Mariposa
by WhiskeyBlair
Summary: "It wasn't until he found himself getting a face full of skull fragments and brain matter that he even realized he was being rescued" KakaSaku. Cross posted to AO3. AU, context clues within the story. Adult Sakura. Slow burn.
1. Chapter 1

It wasn't until he found himself getting a face full of skull fragments and brain matter that he even realized he was being rescued. He couldn't help the sick feeling in his gut as he watched the graphic death unfold before his eyes.

It was one thing, really, to watch Sakura create a small earthquake in the training ground; but another entirely to see her shatter an enemy nin's skull with her bare hands.

The blood rained down over his head and he raised a weak arm in a poor attempt to block it from his face. Sakura stood over him, a calm green radiating from her palms in stark contrast to the chunks of flesh and gore slick against her fingers. The headless body of the missing nin, kunai still in hand, crumpled to the ground.

"Kakashi-sensei, can you move?"

Her hands were already on him; the healing chakra smoothing over him to search for the worst of the damage. Kakashi knew his ribs were broken; his leg shattered. There was an odd ringing in his left ear and he was sure he shouldn't be seeing double; and the rusty chains they had used to hold him had rubbed his wrists raw.

"Genma, I need gauze and tape from the medical pack. I don't want to heal anything too drastic in here in case there's a poison I haven't noticed. Anko, grab what you can that looks relevant. We took out the load bearing wall when we busted in here, who knows when it's going to come down."

As if on cue, the walls around them began to crack, showering them in white plaster and grime.

She wasn't team leader, but they followed her orders. Sakura had forgone the use of their ANBU codenames, which didn't bode well for his injuries. Kakashi reached out for Sakura's wrist, ignoring the squelch of blood against blood.

"Sakura- my eye-"

Blood found its way up and out of his chest, burning the entire way. He coughed and gagged, spitting blood into his filthy mask; hearing Sakura's voice become distant as everything sank into darkness.

* * *

"I'm not sure what they were trying to achieve by kidnapping Kakashi-sensei; but there doesn't seem to be any damage to the eye itself. Extensive damage to his body, and Shizune located a foreign toxin I didn't notice during my initial assessment. Luckily we got him back here in time. I've looked over the scrolls Anko found at the hideout. The working assumption is that they were attempting to get hold of his Sharingan, but didn't know how to remove it without damaging the kekkei genkai. I'll have my mission report on your desk by end of week, Hokage-sama, I've just been busy with-"

Kakashi grunted, and the hushed voices outside his door stopped.

"Sensei?"

He could see pink.

"Skra?"

The mangled word felt like razors tearing at his throat. He felt a gentle tug at the elastic of his hospital mask before something cold and wet pressed to his lips. He blinked, letting the ice chip melt against his tongue as he surveyed the hospital room. Sakura was beside him, her fingers at his pulse and another ice chip in hand. Ugly sage curtains fluttered in the gentle breeze as the mid morning light spilled over the varnished floors.

There was no bustle of energy; no lingering scent of sterilizing chemicals and antiseptic. He wasn't in hospital.

Tsunade slid the door closed behind her as she entered, clicking her tongue at his medical chart and folding her arms.

"Welcome back, Hatake. We've been waiting,"

"Where-?"

Sakura pushed another ice chip to his mouth and shushed him, "You're at a civilian clinic in the North District. Mandatory annual physicals are taking up too much bedspace at the hospital. It's been two weeks since the mission to Iwa, and nine days since you were kidnapped. We've removed the toxins from your chakra stream and healed all of your injuries. Any remaining pain you have is the result of the procedures we had to do to make sure you stayed alive. We put you in an induced coma for four days to try and stimulate your chakra to replenish faster, which seems to have worked. For now though, I would recommend you try not move too much. Genma and Anko are fine; and as far as we can tell all of the enemy nin who ambushed you in the clearing are dead. We have a few ideas why you were targeted, but nothing concrete. When Tsunade-sama is happy with your chakra levels and vitals, you'll be free to go. Have another ice chip,"

The cool water on his cracked lips made him sigh, but the knowledge that his team had made it out alive allowed him to sink back into the pillows and turn his head to the Godaime.

"Mission failure," he muttered, tipping his open palm outwards in lieu of a shrug.

She raised an eyebrow, "You were ambushed in a no violence zone by five missing nin; beaten within an inch of your life; almost lost your eye to an enemy with a kunai and nearly died four times in my hospital and you're concerned about _mission failure_? Despite your gross lack of punctuality and somewhat... unorthodox teaching methods, you are one of the most valuable assets to this village. The mission has been retasked and will be completed. Sakura, go and inform Shizune that Hatake has woken up; she knows who to summon so we can start working on who ordered this attack and why. Then go home, get some rest. And tell Naruto that he's awake, I'm sick of him knocking on my door every morning for an update."

Sakura offered Kakashi another ice chip before reaching for his free hand.

"I'm glad you're back, Kakashi-sensei," she said with a smile, "Naruto and Sai will be happy to hear about it as well. Get some rest,"

With a final squeeze, she left the room, bowing politely to Tsunade before disappearing down the halls. Kakashi locked eye with Tsunade, who raised a single finger. The silence stretched out between them for a long time before the Godaime lowered her hand and settled into the chair beside his bed.

"You never know when she'll spring back into a room without warning," she supplied, "She's caught me with my sake more than once,"

Tsunade pulled an ornate hair pin from the sleeve of her robes and formed the release seal, bringing the materialized bottle of sake to her mouth.

"So... I'm going to need to know what you know,"

Kakashi turned his head and sighed. The memories from before the mission were clear in his mind, but they grew hazier as he came closer to the day of his kidnapping. Then darkness. Then Sakura. Then darkness again.

"We left the village at dawn, we were scheduled to leave shortly after midnight but we were delayed."

He pointedly ignored Tsunade's quiet snort and muttered _typical_ , "The mission plan was to arrive in Iwa and meet with the informant. We passed a small village and heard rumors of missing nin presence, so I sent Anko to scout the general area in case they were interested in us. She didn't find any indication that there were any unknown ninja, but we decided to make a detour in case we had any tails. We stopped for the night by the river, and I took first watch. And then-" he furrowed his brow to stave of the deep ache that shot through his head. His memories sank into a murky darkness from that moment; jumping to the agony of a kunai slicing through his under eye.

"They wanted the Sharingan,"

Tsunade pressed the bottle to her lips again, "As Sakura said, we found no structural damage to your eye. I have all ears to the ground to find out if this was a planned attack. Regardless, I've removed you from active duty for the time being; and you will have a team posted outside your home when you're discharged."

He began to protest, but Tsunade reached for the drip connected to his arm and pushed the small white button several times. Kakashi felt a rush of warmth overcome him; his aching body sinking into a soft embrace. He vaguely heard the sound of a chair scraping, and a door being opened.

"You are the last living host of the Sharingan, Kakashi. I'm not taking any chances."

* * *

 **A/N- added September 7, 2018.**

 **A super kind reviewer made me realize I didn't give as much context to this story as I probably should have! There are contextual clues for where this takes place, and a lot of things are briefly touched on in dialogue or text as to who is alive/what is happening/what I cherry picked from canon but overall it is an AU. Sakura is 21 in this fic, there was no Fourth Great Ninja War, and everything related to Madara and Obito isn't going to be touched on as a main plot point. If you have any questions, shoot me a message and I will clarify. Also, since has a poor/non existent tagging system, if you have a trigger or squick you would like to know about appearing, I'm happy to answer in PM. I hope you enjoy!**


	2. Chapter 2

Sakura waited until she was locked behind the door of her apartment before letting her squared shoulders slump with exhaustion. For a profession that often required utmost secrecy, ninja in Konoha were gossipier than the old ladies in the tea shop down the street. Word had spread like wildfire that Kakashi had been injured on a mission gone awry, and Sakura had yet to go a day without being waylaid by some well meaning shinobi trying to hustle up the latest gossip.

Ino was away on a mission, so she stripped her clothes as she climbed the stairs towards the bathroom. With the overrun hospital, she hadn't had a chance to do more than a few rinse off showers in the last four days since the mission return.

She let the hot water run over her aching muscles for a long time, her cheek pressed to the cold tiles and her mind in a daze. There hadn't been a lot of time to process the events of the failed mission, not with Kakashi being in such bad shape. Images of him walking away into the darkness to keep watch kept rising in her mind, bringing bile to the back of her throat. He could have died out there.

He almost did.

The low levels of foreign toxin Shizune had extracted suggested that the missing non had drugged him. Though she hadn't immediately recognized it, she was working on locating the source. Until then, all they were left with was whatever Kakashi remembered, and their own theories.

The water was running lukewarm by the time she had washed her hair and deep scrubbed the four days of hospital stickiness off her body. Ninja, especially those from the previous generation, were especially frustrating when it came to regular checkups. Technically, they were required to take part in a routine physical exam after returning from every mission, but the generational idea of 'throw some dirt on it' definitely started to bleed into the younger teams. Tsunade had been the deciding factor in meeting them halfway, with a required annual checkup. No checkup, no active duty.

Naturally, however, the intended solution had instead morphed into a game of "I can put off my checkup longer than you can" among the shinobi, and now they were clamouring over themselves to get in for a physical before the deadline. She had seen over fifty shinobi with improperly healed bones; seventeen deep wounds stitched together with floss and a sewing needle; and far more cracked ribs than she could count. After having to remove the tip of a broken shuriken from the inside of a jounin's thigh- who hadn't been on a combat mission in over three weeks-Sakura had been forced to start ratting them out to Tsunade.

Needless to say, she and the other medic nins had their jobs cut out for them these last few days.

Sakura padded across the hardwood floors to her room, ignoring the small puddles of water in her wake. Ino wasn't around to slip on them, she could clean up after herself later. For now, all she wanted was a fresh pair of underwear and an outfit she hadn't worn for more than two days in a row.

It was only just past nine in the morning, and a Sunday at that. The village had nothing but a quiet murmur outside her window as lazy weekend risers began to go about their day. Sakura looked to her bed, the pillows and blanket still crushed into the perfect mushed position from the few days before. She had taken to sharing the rickety cots in the on-call room with Shizune, often too tired to bother returning home after her shifts when she knew she would find herself called in for one thing or another.

With the weight of Kakashi's injuries lifted slightly from her shoulders, maybe now she would be able to sleep without the looming threat of another death. She crawled into the dent in her lavender coloured sheets and mushed her face against against her pillows. The sweet comfort of her own bed made her eyes heavy. She would rest for a few hours, and then get up and start her day refreshed. Just a few hours.

* * *

"SAKURA-CHAN!"

The kunai under her pillow embedded itself in the wall, a few strands of blond hair caught in the blade. Naruto's indignant cry made Sakura crack open a bleary eye and sigh. Ino had given Shikimaru a key, which had resulted in an uproar from Naruto about why he didn't have a key.

"Good morning Naruto,"

"Ne, Sakura-chan, you almost hit me!"

"Good thing you ducked."

Naruto crossed the room and sat at the end of her bed, pinching her toes until she curled them up under the blankets with a grunt, "And I think you mean afternoon, Sakura. Why are you still sleeping? Are you sick?"

...oh. So much for a quick nap. Her clock said it was well past three in the afternoon. The bed rocked as Naruto threw himself down beside her, smile wide and eyes bright. His training gear was covered in grass stains, dirt, and if she wasn't mistaken, ink splotches.

"I thought Tsunade had banned you and Sai from training together since the incident with Training ground 4?" she mumbled into the pillow.

Naruto scratched his neck, "Well, we weren't training together, _technically._ It was more..." he floundered, obviously unable to find a better way to describe it. Sakura rolled her eyes and finally crawled from the bed, reaching her hands to the ceiling and arching her back. The echoing snap and crackle of her joints made Naruto shudder.

"You didn't answer me, Sakura. Why are you still sleeping, did something happen at the hospital? Is everyone okay? Did something happen with Kakashi-sensei?"

Naruto had been returning from a mission when the ANBU team had made it to the gates; drenched in blood with Genma carrying Kakashi over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Naruto had seen Sakura first, her pink hair stained rust red; fingers black with blood and dirt caked to her elbows. Anko and Genma had been bloodied, though not their own. It had taken them a day to reach the gates, and Kakashi's condition had worsened. Naruto had only been held back from racing towards them by Sakura's reassurance that it would be okay, which at the time, she had thought was a lie.

Tsunade had warned her about being a field medic nin.

" _It's one thing to know medicine in the hospital walls. But when your teammate is bleeding out in the middle of nowhere, it's hard to knowas much as we do."_

Sakura had heard stories of medic nins dying in the field; ones who knew the extent of their injuries and were wholly aware of their impending death up until the last moment. Sakura had been sure that she was going to watch Kakashi die that day, and she had never been more thankful for Naruto not knowing more than basic field medicine.

According to Tsunade, Naruto had sat in the waiting room at the hospital until she had personally told him to leave and stop pestering the nurses for answers. Sakura could see it now, under the earnest smile and eternal optimism he exuded, how scared he had been for his teammates. Sakura smiled as she sat beside him.

"I have good news,"

Naruto's reaction to finding out Kakashi was awake had been expected. He was shoving clothes in her arms; a hairbrush; a pair of sandals and her hitai-ate. He threw her comforter haphazardly onto the bed and straightened her pillows.

"What are we still doing here, can we see him today? I'm going to give him a piece of my mind- going off on his own like that!

"Naruto-"

"And Baa-chan, she wouldn't tell me _anything,"_

"Naruto,"

"I even tried getting the nurses to let me see him in the clinic but those women are _scary_ Sakura-chan, they threatened to tell Tsunade I was _harassing the patients_ _\- oof!"_

Sakura's pillow hit him squarely in the face, though she felt it was unnecessary to infuse it with a little chakra. Especially since he had already dodged her kunai when waking her. He really should know better than to startle her while she was sleeping; especially after he took a chakra focused foot to the gut on their last team mission when he tried waking her up with an air horn.

"Naruto. Kakashi probably isn't ready for visitors just yet. He only woke up this morning, and he still seems pretty confused. I'll check with Tsunade-sama in the morning and maybe we can see him then,"

Naruto visibly wilted, "I'm leaving on a mission tomorrow morning, that's what I came to tell you. Baa-chan needs someone to travel to Suna as a representative of Konoha, I'll be gone for two weeks. It's okay though, I'll tell her to let me stay and we can send someone else-"

Sakura grabbed his hand and cupped it in her own. Naruto sighed as Sakura ran her thumb along his knuckles and offered him a reassuring squeeze.

"Take the mission, Naruto. Kakashi-sensei is doing well, and he will be stuck in the clinic probably until you get back. I'll let him know you wanted to see him. He's going to be fine. Trust me,"

Naruto's frown softened before he reached for her, arms open as a silent question. She let him bring her to him, resting her ear to his chest as he crushed her in an embrace. He had done something similar the first day she returned, unbothered by the smell of death and smears of grime coating her body.

"I was so worried, Sakura-chan," he whispered, "What were the two of you even doing out there? I know you're Baa-chan apprentice but you aren't ANBU, what did they need you for?"

"You know that's classified, Naruto. I've told you everything I was allowed to,"

His acknowledgement of her abilities made her heart swell. Even years after Team 7 and a boost in her self worth, it still brought a warmth to her heart when her boys remembered her for more than just a female teammate. Naruto still clung to her. In a different time in their lives, this gesture would have meant something different. A promise Sakura couldn't keep; a sign Naruto would misunderstand. But Team 7 was years ago now, and there was nothing more than a bond strengthened by mutual loss and a friendship Sakura was thankful for every day.

The warmth of a spring afternoon in Konoha was broken by a lazy breeze that filtered through her open windows. Her garden box of flowers was blooming over the edges of its container, petals spilling onto the ground below when a particularly rough burst of wind rushed through. A housewarming gift from Naruto (though she had suspicious thoughts that Ino had been consulted at the time of purchase), he had been so proud of his gift that she smiled every time she saw the flowers bloom to life in the sunshine.

"I was so worried about you, Sakura-chan," he whispered.

"I know."

They lulled into a comfortable silence, Naruto keeping his arms wrapped firmly around her as she listened to his heartbeat; strong and constant under her ear.

It was hard not to think of when she had done this for Sasuke.

And how she had heard nothing.

"Let's get some ramen. You can tell me about your escort mission with Hinata last week. I know she requested you specifically,"

The deep red blush that painted Naruto's cheeks was enough of a story; but Sakura was hoping one of the two had finally managed to get enough sense to make a move. There was only so much stammering, side eyes, and full face blushing the rest of the ninja around here could take.

Naruto punched the air, "Ichiraku here we come! I, uh, I haven't picked up my mission pay yet though, Sakura-chan. Anko is at the finance desk and she scares me a little. So..."

"Two bowls. Maximum."

"CHA! You're the best, Sakura-chan!"


	3. Chapter 3

Night had settled into itself over the village. The cicadas chirped in the darkness, a warm and teasing wind snaked through the air, bringing with it the barest hint of a hot summer to come. Tsunade sensed the chakra before she heard the staccato knocks against the heavy door.

"Come in,"

The porcelain cat mask of her visitor caught the moonlight and produced an eerie glow.

"Mission report. And take that thing off, there's no reason for secrecy here."

Shino pushed his ANBU mask away from his face and placed a scroll on Tsunade's desk.

"The hideout where they kept Hatake-san was torched when we arrived, obviously there are more people involved than the ones killed by the last squad. We found the villagers who reported suspicious missing-nin activity and questioned them; it was a mother and daughter picking wildflowers on the outskirts of the village. Her daughter was chasing a butterfly and screamed, the mother went to investigate when she saw six ninja leaving the scene. No discernible village identification, no hitai-ate, and most ninja passing through the area announce themselves to the village. That was three days before squad thirteen came by the area,"

Tsunade filled a porcelain teacup with sake and reached for the scroll, "Was the girl harmed?"

"No, Hokage-sama. She was shaken but unharmed, which I would personally assume suggests these men were hired for the job. Anyone wanting to cover their tracks would have killed the girl before word could get out that they were in the area,"

 _Or they wanted to be seen._

"We followed Anko-san's map of the approximate detour they took after learning about the ninja presence and they movements after leaving the village. It had taken them five days to reach the village at the edge of Fire Country, just south of the no violence zone. I assume this had to do with a pre-mission requirement as it only took my team a day and a half to mobilize and arrive. Hatake's team was intended to cross through the Earth border by making their way over the Kannabi bridge, but instead moved further northeast to avoid any conflict with possible missing nin."

Just as they should have done, Tsunade mused. Kakashi had known the importance of meeting with the informant from Iwa and knew if the ANBU team was waylaid by a battle that there was a chance for the man to be spooked. It had happened anyway; the informant had sent no correspondence since the incident. But there was nothing that could be done now.

"We reached the treaty zone and found where Hatake-san had been abducted. There was... a lot of evidence of Haruno-san having been there,"

Tsunade hid her pleased smile behind her sake cup. That was her girl.

"The treaty zone was less than five minutes from the campsite. Both Shiranui and Anko's mission reports state that they heard activity shortly after Hatake left their site to find a better area to keep watch, and when they arrived in the clearing there were five ninja, but Katake was nowhere to be found. After a brief skirmish, the nin were captured and tortured for information. It took five days to locate where Hatake was being held, and a final ninja was killed by Haruno-san on site. We were able to confirm all of this when we found evidence of a recent camp, and the bodies of the missing nin. No identifiable features; possibly bandits for hire. All we managed to locate in the rubble of the area was that scroll. No notable chakra signatures in the vicinity, and we returned at your request."

"Thank you, Shino. You may go."

Shino bowed before he left, closing the door firmly behind him. Tsunade poured more sake and opened the scroll, disappointed to find only brief medical notes. The hideout being set alight proved there was more to this than a simple unlucky mission. Someone wanted their tracks covered, and at this point they had no leads and no idea.

If someone wanted to get their hands on the Sharingan, why risk placing it in the hands of untrained missing nin? Kakashi had been fluctuating between life and death when he had come to the hospital, almost rendering the kekkei genkai useless had he not been found by his teammates. Had the hired ninja decided to keep the Sharingan for themselves? But without proper medical knowledge, the eye would have been unable to be transplanted. Why not kill the civilian girl who had seen them, and would potentially jeopardize the mission? There were too many questions; too many leads that ended in a tangled mess. How much of this was coincidence? It was a filthy word on the tongue of a shinobi, but they did happen.

Where was Jiraya when she needed him?

Probably peeking through a hole in a bathhouse somewhere in Earth country.

She rubbed her thumb along the rim of her sake cup and poured another. It was going to be a long night. She deserved it.

* * *

Three days in the clinic and he was already starting to wonder if he could Chidori his way out of here, straight through the brick walls and out into freedom. Even though the civilian clinic lacked the same oppressing weight of the hospital, he was ready to leave.

Kakashi bent towards the floor, pressing his to the wood before pushing himself into a handstand. He had already run through his daily stretches; general calisthenics; enough squats and lunges to make Gai weep with pride. His eye was healed, and his ribs no longer ached every time he moved his arms. He could feel his chakra replenishing and the tingling sensation of healing chakra filtering away.

He needed to go. He was just waiting for the right moment.

The moment presented itself several minutes later when he heard a soft knock at his door before it creaked open.

"Good morning Hatake-san! Oh my goodness, what are you doing!"

The petite brunette balked at his position and set the breakfast tray on his already made bed. Kakashi tipped himself upright and flashed her a peace sign.

"Yo. Mei, wasn't it?"

She had been bringing him his meals for the last few days, never saying much and blushing when he addressed her. She didn't wear a medic uniform, which made him believe she was a civilian volunteer. Which also made her perfect.

"Yes, Hatake-san. Akatsui Mei,"

She blushed during her introduction and Kakashi seized his moment. He reached for the sliced apples on his breakfast tray with one hand while he pulled down his mask with the other. Mei's eyes went wide and her jaw dropped as Kakashi sank his teeth into the crisp green apple, catching the runaway juice with the tip of his tongue.

"Tell me, Mei... When is the nurse rotation around here?"

"Uhm... The first rotation is at 11:30, Hatake-san."

Kakashi sat on the bed with a thoughtful hum, pushing another apple slice between his lips, "and when the new nurses arrive- about how long does it take them before they start to run the rounds on patients?"

"About thirty minutes? The new nurses need to check all of the paperwork before they check on anyone."

There it was. His chance.

He sucked some juice from his thumb and pulled his mask back into place, offering Mei a crinkle eyed smile.

"Thanks so much, Mei. You re very helpful."

The poor girl look dazed. She gestured halfheartedly to the breakfast tray and nodded, "ah, Yes, Hatake-san. I'm happy to help?"

When she was gone, Kakashi resumed his hand stand position and smiled to himself. He was getting out of here. Half an hour was more than enough time for the nurses to not notice him gone, and by then he would be out of the North District and into the centre of town. If Tsunade wanted to find him then, he would be able to make a good enough case that if he could escape the clinic, he was clearly doing much better.

He couldn't go to his apartment block; there were too many new shinobi who would gladly rat him out to Tsunade to try and get in her good books. The bachelor pad Naruto, Shikimaru and Chouji wasn't even a question. He would consider Genma and Shizune if they didn't already live in the apartment above him; he couldn't risk being seen if he was wanting to stay out of here. He poked at the small vase of wildflowers on his bedside table and smiled.

He was sure Sakura would be happy to see him. Once she was done yelling.

* * *

Sakura could smell fresh grilled unagi in the air, mingling with the scent of spring flowers and warm pavement. The marketplace was bustling with people, even for early afternoon. She ducked down a side street, not wanting to give herself the temptation of passing by the multiple store fronts along the main street. Last time she and Ino had decided to 'window shop', Sakura had bought a yukata she definitely hadn't needed, and it had cost half a mission paycheck. Instead, she wandered down the cobbled paths, peering into various fruit stalls and buying small items to fill her kitchen. Ino's mission had been extended due to some miscommunication between the client and Tsunade (also known as; the client didn't want to pay for what the actual mission would cost, and had chosen instead to blatantly lie about what was required in the hope they would be given service for free).

Sakura was deciding between a very appealing stick of dango and a grilled unagi when she heard her name being called. It wasn't uncommon for her to be picked out in a crowd; she was particularly distinctive. Steeling herself for another nosy shinobi, she turned around and smiled when she caught sight of the kunoichi approaching.

"Sakura! How are you today?"

Sakura smiled underneath her wide brimmed yellow hat and waved, "Good afternoon, Kurenai. And hello Mirai, look how big you've gotten!"

The toddler curled her fists into her mother's pants and ducked behind her legs. Sakura caught a peek of large, red eyes before they disappeared too. Kurenai laughed and tousled her daughter's hair.

"Apologies, Sakura. She's just a little shy. How have you been?"

Kurenai was someone Sakura had become closer with since becoming a jounin. Though she took less missions now, the two had been paired together more than once.

"Ah, the usual. Tsunade-sama has asked me take a week off, she says I've been working too hard."

'Asked' was a bit of a stretch. Sakura had showed up at the hospital the day after Kakashi had woken up only to be turned around at the door by her mentor and told not to come back. She reached for a bundle of leafy greens and dropped several ryo into the merchants hands. Kurenai's canvas bag was filled with vegetables and various fruits, and the way Mirai's eyes darted eagerly to the tables of fresh baked goods, it might not last long.

They chatted absently as Sakura purchased her groceries. This was her favourite part of the spring, when all the fresh and local food was laid out in the village streets. Mirai overcame her shyness, eventually wedging her way between her mother and Sakura to curl her small hand in Sakura's. Kurenai didn't pry about the mission, nor did she ask about Kakashi. Instead, they shared recipes and gardening tips; Kurenai promising Sakura a jar of her raspberry jam come summertime in exchange for Sakura's help arranging a small garden bed for Mirai to tend byherself. The girl in question began fussing as her mother's shopping trip edged into an hour long; reaching her arms into the air to be lifted. Kurenai pressed a soft kiss to her daughter's head and smiled.

"Looks like someone is ready for her nap. It was good to see you, Sakura. When I return from my day mission we should meet for lunch. I think Mirai has definitely taken a shine to you,"

Sakura accepted the invitation with a gentle wave in Mirai's direction. The toddler waved back shyly, her cheek pillowed on her mother's shoulder as her eyes drooped closed.

She bid Kurenai and her daughter goodbye and began heading back to her apartment. She had swapped out her standard mission attire for simpler shorts and a sleeveless shirt, the warmth of the sun on her skin making her lazy and relaxed. Maybe tomorrow she would head to the training grounds and soak up the sun during her workout.

"Yo."

Sakura peered over the top of her carrot bunches and frowned. Kakashi was on her doorstep, Pakkun sunbaking lazily beside him. His lazy recline suggested he hadn't been there long, but that wasn't her first concern.

"Kakashi sensei! You shouldn't be out of the clinic yet. Does Tsunade-sama know you've left?"

"Good evening, Sakura. I'm doing well, and you?"

His usual jounin outfit had been traded for a navy shirt with short sleeves, though he still wore the traditional black shinobi pants and sandals. His hitai-ate was pulled low over his Sharingan, mask up in place as usual. Sakura remembered the days long past, when the mystery of his mask had fuelled more than one determined ploy to make him remove it. Even Sasuke, for all his anger and aloof tendencies, had taken part in the increasingly ridiculous ploys.

The memories left a bittersweet note in her chest now. The mystery of his mask was long since gone; taken from the team during a medical emergency in the field when Kakashi had taken a kunai directly into his jaw. Naruto had gone starry eyed while Sakura was ripping the kunai out of Kakashi's broken jaw and trying to use the mask to stop the bleeding. But they could still reminisce.

"Kakashi-sensei, you can't just decide to leave the clinic. When Tsunade finds out-"

"Maa, Sakura, I'm fine. You can give me a check up if you don't believe me. And you don't understand, I had to leave. There was this small rabbit being chased outside my window, it would have been heartless of me to leave it,"

"I see,"

She sat beside him on the stoop and reached out to absently scratch Pakkun's exposed belly. Kakashi looked better, she would admit. The colour was back in his cheeks; dark circles gone from under his eyes. And Tsunade _had_ told him he could leave when his condition improved.

"Well, I suppose I won't tell anyone you're here just yet; but don't think I'm going to even suggest to Tsunade-sama that you're mission ready."

"No need to worry about that, Tsunade has decided to take me off the active mission roster, at least until Konoha can figure out if this was a calculated attack for the Sharingan. But I wanted to see how you were. I assume this was quite an experience, especially for your first ANBU mission."

Sakura shrugged one shoulder and tried to balance her groceries on one hip as she unlocked the door, "with the Team 7 track record, I'm not sure I expected anything less than way more than I bargained for."

If Kakashi thought that had been her first mission assisting ANBU, she probably wasn't allowed to tell him it wasn't. Her first ANBU mission had actually gone smoothly; she had been assigned to keep an enemy nin alive while he was tortured for information regarding the kidnapping and murder of several chuunin kunoichi. Tsunade-sama had admitted her personal reservations when selecting Sakura for the task, but smoothed over the stinging wound with the assurance that Sakura was more than qualified.

She knew her presence on ANBU missions was technically unauthorized, but she was one of the only highly ranked field trained medic nin that doubled as an active ninja. Most medic nin were forbidden from taking part in combat when tasked with medic purposes to avoid losing an entire squad by taking out the medic. With her chakra control, however, the ANBU teams could manage without an extra body, but have the same manpower as a five shinobi squad. She wasn't sure how Kakashi hadn't yet caught wind of her dabbles with ANBU, probably the same way Naruto was yet to officially know. Nobody wanted to be the one to have to relay that particular message.

Naruto was waiting to go for ANBU with Shikimaru and Kiba in the Fall; though with the mounting tension between countries, mission levels were becoming blurry by the day.

She swept a scrutinizing glance over her shared living room and kitchen. "Pig" was a fitting nickname for Ino when considering her cleanliness. For once, however, there was a distinct lack of dirty clothes and romance novels.

"Come inside, I might have some sausages Pakkun can have. I'll make you some tea and take a look at your vitals. If Tsunade-sama comes for you though, I'm letting her drag you out by your hair,""

She kept a calculating eye on Kakashi as he got up from the step; quietly checking his posture and balance as he came inside; Pakkun trotting after him, clearly pleased with the promise of potential sausages.

"Make yourself at home, Kakashi-sensei. How do you feel about jasmine tea?"

"Whatever you have on hand is fine, Sakura. Thank you."

She pushed several items in the fridge aside before finding what she was looking for. Sakura set four fat, round sausages onto a plate and place it on the ground in front of Pakkun before setting her kettle to boil.

"Don't tell the others, but you're definitely my favourite human," the ninken praised around his mouthful of food. Kakashi watched Pakkun with one eyebrow raised.

"Don't tell the others you got those sausages or poor Sakura will be overrun with dogs,"

Sakura smiled innocently and shot Pakkun a wink when Kakashi turned his head. She and Kakashi's ninken may or may have a deal that exchanged various foods for exact locations of Kakashi and his various hiding spots. While the kettle boiled, she rummaged in the kitchen cabinet and removed two teacups.

"Sakura, I know I said you could but you really don't need to trouble yourself giving me a checkup. I made it out of the hospital and to your doorstep without any issues."

"It's no trouble, Kakashi-sensei. I like to make sure people are doing okay. Especially with Sai and Naruto constantly trying to out do each other during training."

"Aren't those two banned from sparring without supervision after the incident at the training ground?"

Sakura pressed her middle and index fingers of both hands to Kakashi's temples, "as though that has ever stopped them,"

She felt Kakashi tense under her fingertips as her chakra slipped through his own. It wasn't the most comfortable sensation for most people, especially ninja, to have a foreign chakra flickering up against them. She massaged her fingers clockwise, humming as her chakra retreated without incident.

"Well, you absolutely shouldn't have left the clinic without Tsunade-sama's approval, but it does seem like you've healed properly from the surgery. your chakra levels are above average; the inflammation from your eye damage has receded; and all of your organs are functioning normally. I'm surprised you recovered as quickly as you did, given that..." She paused, her sentence lingering in the space between them.

"That I almost died?"

Sakura didn't respond. The last few nights she had been awoken in cold sweat, the image of Kakashi's lifeless body bloodied and broken on her operating table. Naruto mourning another loss to his chosen family. Sakura bringing flowers to wither and decay on yet another grave site.

The shrill cry of the kettle broke her from her thoughts and she was happy to busy herself at the counter top. She didn't need to dwell on things like that, it would only take away from the happiness she had now.

* * *

Kakashi watched the happiness in Sakura's eyes dim and he felt a pang of regret for speaking so glibly about the situation. When she brought the tea to the table he cleared his throat and pulled his mask down to take a sip.

"How are things at the hospital. I remember before we left for our mission that you were considering taking on a student,"

Sakura tapped her nails against the china, "Ah, Tsunade-sama wants me to sift through some of the chuunin and see if anyone jumps out at me. I don't know if I'm ready for that yet, I feel like I have so much left to learn. She offered me a genin team last year and I was _not_ ready for that; I don't know how Shikimaru does it. He invited me to spend a training day with his students to talk about chakra control and they were so...so... disobedient!"

"No, really?"

He made no effort to disguise the sarcasm dripping off his tongue. A disobedient genin team? Who would have heard of such a thing? Sakura's cheeks tinted pink and she cleared her throat, pushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

"I can't say I _personally_ remember being disobedient, sensei-"

He almost choked on his tea, and Sakura narrowed her eyes as she continued, "But at least Naruto, Sasuke and I worked together when it counted. Shikimaru stranded one of them out on the lake to make them work on chakra distribution in their feet and the other two just left him there. I had to go out and get him,"

Kakashi couldn't help but chuckle at her aversion to the genin teams. In the beginning, it had been considered a right of passage to teach the next generation of ninja. Now, every jounin in the village tried passing the buck when they were selected. Pakkun had finished his sausages and plopped on the ground beside Sakura's feet.

"In my opinion, Sakura, you are more than ready. But I know you have a lot on your plate with the hospital and your missions, but I do think you'll make an excellent sensei one day,"

"...thank you, Kakashi-sensei,"

The conversation broke off awkwardly for a few minutes before Sakura clicked her tongue, "Genma and Anko said they were going to come by and see you at the clinic; but Tsunade-sama had to send them on missions before they got a chance. There's a bit of trouble at that village we stopped in at..." she trailed off and he could see in her eyes that she was unsure if she should continue the topic. Kakashi waved his hand at her, encouraging her to continue a he sipped at his tea, trying to act nonchalant.

"Well, since they're so close to the non violence zone- and there was kind of a lot of violence there, they were worried about their safety. Genma, Anko and Team Ebisu were sent to reinforce the gates and try and smooth things over with them. With everything that's happening, Tsunade-sama doesn't want small villages being afraid of shinobi,"

Sakura sighed as she propped her chin into her hand.

"It speaks to the times, doesn't it? That you were attacked in the treaty zone..."

He could hear the rest of her thought, even without it being spoken aloud. The treaty zones had been established two years ago, an attempt to keep innocent civilians out of harms way and to allow shinobi a place to meet on neutral terms, no home advantage to leverage in either direction. The Kages had met and agreed in all but blood- there would be no violence in the designated zones. For the sake of the future.

"Missing nin and bandits rarely follow the rules, Sakura. No need to discount the entire world just yet." He chided, bringing the small teacup to his lips. He would admit, albeit privately, that he had noticed a decline in the bonds between ninja villages. Tensions were high, defectors were higher. He didn't entertain the notion that Konoha was innocent in dabbling with things it shouldn't be.

But this wasn't not the brink of a war. Not yet.

They sat in silence for a long time, the stillness of the late afternoon broken only by Pakkun lazy snores and the occasional chime of a teaspoon on china. He had only been in Sakura's apartment a handful of times before; but it had been a long time since they had sat together for tea. The last time; a spring shower had been splattering the windows of her old home, and it hadn't been enough to drown out the sound of Sakura's sobbing.

The day Sasuke had died.

His thoughts were shared, he noted, when he followed Sakura's eyes to find her staring at the framed photo of team 7.

"Do you miss him, Kakashi- sensei?"

He knew she knew he did. Perhaps not as openly as Naruto. Certainly not like the loss of a first love as Sakura felt. But rather the loss of someone who could have been saved. If only from themselves.

"Yes, Sakura. I do."

He tried not to think about that day. He wasn't sure Sakura knew the truth of how it had all ended. Or that she would even want to. The image of Sasuke's cold, lifeless body laid under a white sheet in the prison cell had haunted Kakashi for longer than he cared to admit. He didn't want Sakura to have to live with that the same way he did.

It had been a hard fight to get the Elders to agree that Uchiha Sasuke deserved a burial with his family. That his name had a place with the village, despite him turning his back on it. They had conceded to a simple grave site, locked away in the abandoned Uchiha compound. There were very few people who even know it was there. It was true, most of the village regarded him as a traitor. A defector of Konoha and an accomplice to Orochimaru. But to the people who knew about the grave site, it wasn't just for the Sasuke they had buried that day. But for the one they had lost a long time ago.

Sakura was crying. Her tears dripped from her cheeks and into her teacup, sending ripples through the water. Crying women was high on the list of things Kakashi wasn't good at handling. He settled his hand on her shoulder and squeezed.

"Sakura?" he whispered. She flicked a tear from her cheek and took a long, slow breath.

"You should come by more often, Kakashi-sensei. I might start to think I'm not your favourite student anymore,"

Her smile was weak, but the humor that tinged her tone suggested the moment of sadness had passed. It had only been a year since Sasuke died; the wound still easily opened to weep and ache. The joke was also a peace offering. It was no real secret that Kakashi had left her to the wayside in her genin days. He wanted to say it was because the Sandaime had saddled him with the last Uchiha in the village and the kyuubi vessel and he had his hands full, but they both knew he had underestimated her. She had forgiven him, he knew that. One day, he might find it in himself to stop holding on to days passed.

Regardless, she had found her strength with Tsunade. Her chakra control had flourished; and she was a sought after both as a medic and a kunoichi. He had seen a new side of her strength on the mission; not just in the brute force of her attacks, but in the way even those around her acknowledged her. She had become one of the strongest kunoichi he had ever met.

"You aren't my student at all anymore, Sakura. You don't even need to call me sensei. But yes, you were absolutely my favorite. Maybe we can do this again sometime,"

Pakkun opened one eye and piped up from his place on the floor, "S'pecially if you got more of those sausages,"

Sakura's laughter lifted a weight of Kakashi's chest he hadn't noticed had settled into it. He made a mental note to give Pakkun extra belly rubs when the opportunity arose. They continued their idle chatter until Sakura tilted her head towards the kitchen door.

"Get down, mask your chakra."

Kakashi ducked under the table without question, watching the kitchen door swing open and he a glimpse of a pair of shinobi sandals in front of Sakura's bare feet.

"Good afternoon, Haruno-san,"

It was a chuunin from the Hokage tower, one of Tsunade's many employees. Apparently word had gotten out that he left the clinic. That had taken longer than expected.

"Hello, Saruto-san, please, no need for formality. You can call me Sakura. Can I help you with something?"

"It seems Hatake-san has left the civilian clinic without permission. Hokage-sama has requested that we find him; I thought I would check with you since you're his former student,"

"Hmmm, I haven't seen him,"

"...Isn't that one of his ninken?"

Pakkun, snoring loudly on the floor again, jerked awake, "Wha?"

Kakashi braced for the response, but Sakura only laughed, "Yes, that's Pakkun. I feed him sometimes when I have too much food; the other ninken are around here somewhere, I think. But I don't know if they'll be much use," she lowered her voice to a stage whisper, "They get a little dazed when they've just eaten,"

Kakashi was pretty sure the chuunin wasn't buying the story, but Sakura was well known throughout Konoha, and not just anyone would call her out on a supposed lie. If the chuunin was smart, he would notice the two teacups on the table, but Kakashi was certain Sakura had angled herself to block any view of the kitchen save for Pakkun and her empty grocery bags.

"...sure. I'll be sure to let the Godaime know that you... haven't seen him."

Kakashi didn't have to see the chuunin's face to know he was fully aware Kakashi was in here. The crunch of sandals on gravel disappeared before Sakura let the door swing closed and Kakashi poked his head up from under the table.

"I appreciate it, Sakura,"

"Not a problem, Kakashi-sensei. Had it been Tsunade-sama I probably would have turned you over, but I suppose for now you can stay, since it seems you've got a search party after you. I was just going to spend the rest of the afternoon reading, and I'm making dumplings for dinner,"

Her eyes were wide and hopeful, and there was no reason for him to say no. He thought of her letting him escape the clinic, even though Tsunade would certainly not approve. He looked at his former student in her floral shorts and her "bee fabulous" shirt with a striped bumblebee embroidery and wondered how he had missed her become the kind of woman who would shatter a skull without a second thought.

"Sure, Sakura. Why not,"


	4. Chapter 4

He couldn't breathe.

His mouth was stuffed open with filthy gauze; his nose filled with clotted blood; splashes of color ran past his eyes but he couldn't focus on anything. He could hear something- maybe voices. Maybe the screech of metal on metal. He didn't know anymore. Where was his team- were they safe- were they dead? Was he going to be dead? Had he been in worse situations before? He didn't remember.

"Don't do- until we get paid-"

Paid?

They were being paid.

Kakashi jerked awake, reaching for a weapon that wasn't there. He wasn't in his apartment, but the air didn't smell like dampness and blood. Blood screamed through his veins, his heart pumping so fast it felt like it would tear his chest open. He needed to get out of here.

"Kakashi-sensei,"

He relaxed, catching sight of pink hair at the mouth of the staircase through the darkness. He didn't remember falling asleep, especially not with a plush cat pillow under his head and a Sakura blossom patterned blanket draped over his body. He could hear the soft padding of Sakura's movements before he could finally make out her silhouette.

"Are you in pain?"

"...no?"

He could feel his heart still thundering unhindered in his chest, though his breathing had slowed to a ragged inhale and exhale. They had been paid; he remembered hearing the ninja Sakura had killed talking to someone- another shinobi? There hadn't been anyone else there when his team had arrived, but he was sure he had heard snatches of conversation and more than one voice. He wasn't going to be moved until they had been paid; and then they would take him where they had been instructed. He would have to tell Tsunade; she wasn't sure if his memory would properly return. The drug used in his kidnapping was commonplace in most nations except Fire country, meaning it did nothing to arrow down the search. He had told her he remembered taking a senbon graze to the neck, and then very little. The drug worked fast, though it metabolized quickly, which might allow him a patchwork look into his kidnapping.

Sakura wasn't moving. She had settled herself into the armchair beside the couch, but hadn't made any moves to reach for him. He supposed she worked with post mission shinobi a lot at the hospital and knew better than to startle someone who could become unpredictable. The clouds shifted, spilling moonlight into the room to bleach at the darkness. Sakura had her fingers steepled on her knees and was watching him with what Naruto called her 'medic face'. Taking in his every movement, watching the rise and fall of his chest and the shift in his legs. Looking for any sign that he wasn't telling her the truth.

"Did I wake you?"

He didn't know how late it was, though by the tousle of her hair and the rumples in her pajamas, she hadn't just fallen into bed.

"No. Pakkun told the other ninken about the sausages and they stopped by for belly rubs. A lot of them snore. I heard you moving, I wanted to make sure you weren't in any pain. May I?"

She offered her hand, the gentle mint green glow of her chakra rippling on her fingertips. He wasn't sure what she was expecting to find, he didn't feel any immediate pain. But when his fingers connected with hers he felt a rush of calm overcome him, spreading from their point of contact and into his chest.

"Was that-"

"Tsunade-sama taught me. I hope you don't mind that I used it, I can tell you're pretty tense,"

She had used a chakra sedative to calm his nerves. He had only seen Tsunade use it a few times, and each time she had warned him of the dangers it posed if used incorrectly. Even those without excellent chakra control could heal, though not with the same level of grace and accuracy as a trained medic nin. But other things with chakra; like sedation, chakra blades, and anything that toyed with more than basic physical healing could cause irreparable damage if done incorrectly. His head was clear, free of a dull ache he hadn't realized lingered at the base of his skull.

"I suppose when the sun comes up I'll need to find my way to our lovely Hokage, won't I?"

He wouldn't tell Sakura about the memory just yet, he wanted to make sure it wasn't his mind playing tricks. He would see what Tsunade had discovered before deciding if he believed his own memory.

"I'm sure she'll be happy to see you. She sent a message for me after you fell asleep,"

Sakura held out a thin scrap of paper, the moon illuminating it just enough for him to make out Tsunade's long, sprawling handwriting.

 _You're only excused because he was bothering the nurses and he reduced poor Mei to a stuttering mess. Tomorrow. My office._

"Ah... seems we might be in trouble," Kakashi mused. Bothering the nurses? How was he expected to pass his time if they wouldn't let him have his Icha Icha books, ninken, shuriken for target practice, or let him sing any of the various songs about shinobi life that he had picked up.

"The worst she will do to me is a few hard training sessions and some shifts on the genin ward. I'll be cleaning up accidental kunai injuries for a week or two, but I'm sure I'll manage. You, on the other hand... depending how cruel she's feeling you might even end up with an all new genin team,"

Kakashi didn't want to dwell on that thought. Maybe if he slipped her a bottle or two of sake and a new paperweight to replace the one she had thrown at his head several weeks ago they could call it even. She may be the Hokage, and a medic nin, but she was also a ninja. She knew how hard it was to stay cooped up for too long.

"Unfortunately, Sakura, you and I are partners in crime now. You wouldn't abandon me to suffer alone, would you?"

Sakura laughed, "Well, someone once told me that those that disregard their comrades so easily are worse than trash. So I suppose if it comes down to the wire, we can take the fall together. It's a shame Naruto isn't here; I'm sure he would talk circles around Tsunade until she just gave up and let you off with a stern warning,"

Truth be told, Kakashi was pretty sure he had almost used up his allowance of those. He knew Tsunade gave him more share than she did many others; and he always found himself wondering one day she would run out of favours for him. He felt a yawn cracked at his jaw now that his heart rate had settled. The easy conversation with Sakura had brought back a sense of relaxation he remembered from earlier in the evening; when a dramatic soap opera played on the television and Pakkun had made himself at home on Sakura's lap.

"Do you need help falling asleep Kakashi-sensei? I have a few things in my medic kit,"

He knew what 'a few things' were. 'A few things' was something she had slipped into Naruto and Lee's ramen bowls when they had made some ridiculous bet about seeing who could stay awake for the most days in a row. It took two days for everyone to collectively decide something needed to be done; and only an hour before Sakura was carrying them both to the hospital, one slung over either shoulder. Though Kakashi had heard from Genma about the resulting lecture she got from Shizune, he also knew that Sakura's next mission paycheck had been suspiciously larger than usual; and Tsunade had seen fit to rearrange Sakura's schedule to whatever she liked for the remainder of the month.

"I think I'll be fine, Sakura. Thank you for your help; I'm sorry for falling asleep on your couch. And I'll speak to the ninken about taking advantage of your refrigerator,"

"No. Lay back down,"

Kakashi paused with the blanket still clutched in his hand. The clouds had shifted again and he could only see a sheen of almost lavender hair in the darkness.

"It's late. It's honestly late enough that it's early. If you don't mind sleeping here on the couch you're welcome to stay; Naruto sleeps here all the time. And as for the ninken, I- I don't mind. I like the company. Ino spends a lot of time with Shikimaru, and I know Naruto likes living his life with the guys, no matter how terrifying their apartment might be."

He was getting incredibly tired. His lids were heavy and he could feel his muscles aching to lay back into the softness of the couch. He could get up in the morning and plead his case to Tsunade; and then go back to his own apartment to resume his usual routine. Sakura's words also stirred something in his chest. He had never thought to consider her lonely. She was always lit up with happiness, always sharing lunch with someone or making conversation with people she treated as though she had known them for years. Maybe there really was so much about his students that he didn't know.

Sakura seemed to take his contemplative silence as approval; she was already on her feet and heading for the staircase when Kakashi heard a gruff voice echo down to them.

"We woke up and you were gone; Bisuke wants more belly rubs and Pakkun is sleeping on your pillow,"

Regardless whether or not Sakura minded the company, he was _definitely_ going to have to have a word with his ninken. They seemed so at home here, which made him wonder how much of their of time they were spending in Sakura's apartment.

"I'm coming, Bull. I'll move Pakkun and I'll give everyone belly rubs before I go back to sleep," he heard the last stair creak gently before Sakura called over to him, "Goodnight, Kakashi-sensei,"

She was gone before he replied. His last thought before sleep overtook him was to find a way to ask Sakura if she had changed her shampoo. Pakkun had decided Floral Green wasn't for him anymore, and now he wondered if Sakura had something to do with that.

* * *

"No no no you can't be here!"

Kakashi peered over the top of the book he had taken from Sakura's bookshelf. He hadn't heard the door open, but he could hear Sakura's frantic whispers. Apparently she didn't know he was awake yet.

"Out! Come back later when nobody else is home!"

Was he interrupting something? He hadn't thought Sakura had a boyfriend, but he'd been wrong before. A few men had peppered Sakura's life over the last few years, though she was always cutting ties for one reason or another.

'He didn't think I should be a ninja'

'He thought I spent too much time at the hospital'

On one memorable occasion she had thrown one of them straight out her balcony window. At the time, neither he nor Naruto had asked what had caused her abrupt decision. It wasn't until weeks later that Kakashi learned that the ninja had certain... extreme opinions regarding what the village should have done regarding the kyuubi vessel. After that, the chuunin had been posted on a two year rotation of Fire nation border watch.

Truly such an unfortunate shame.

"No, don't make those eyes at me! You know the rules, nobody can see you coming in here!"

...intriguing.

Kakashi set the book down and crept across the floor towards the kitchen. It wouldn't hurt just to catch a peek of the new man in Sakura's life; there had to be a reason she was keeping him a secret.

"Ah! No, get back here! Do not leave this kitchen!"

Kakashi reached the doorway to the kitchen just in time to see a basketball waddle past his feet.

Wait. He peered down at the sentient ball and tilted his head.

"Sakura... this is the fattest cat I have ever seen,"

Was this thing even a cat? It looked like it might have been at one point during it's life. Before it ate a small child and morphed into something much more horrifying. The tabby cat blinked up at him with large, brown eyes and mewled pathetically. Surely it wasn't looking for food?

"You can't tell anyone he's here!"

His student looked frantic. All of this secrecy over a cat? It wasn't a ninneko, though if you threw it hard enough at someone it might do a decent amount of damage. Kakashi crouched down and offered his hand, palm up. The cat sniffed it before offering him a single lick and waddling away, seemingly uninterested if there was no promise of food.

"Is there a reason for all the secrecy?"

Sakura scratched the back of her neck, "Ah... Ino hates cats?"

A completely plausible answer, though he was sure it wasn't the truth. Whatever reasons Sakura had for hiding her incredibly large cat, he was sure they were reasonable. Sometimes it was better not to ask his former students for more information. There were parts of their lives he was happier not knowing.

"Breakfast? I thought we could get something on our way to see Tsunade-sama, if she's going to punish us we may as well enjoy a chocolate pastry."

"Do you feed the cat chocolate pastries?"

He easily ducked the apple that was thrown towards his head, catching it with one hand and throwing it into the air. He didn't relish the idea of seeing the Hokage, even if she was in a good mood. He had thought long and hard about his dreams and he was sure, now more than he had been before, that the ninja who had ambushed him had been paid to do so. Why they had done it so brazenly, in a treaty zone only minutes away from his highly trained ANBU squad, he didn't know. Why what would have had to be such a delicate and specialized operation was seemingly overshadowed by panic and he had nearly lost his eye to a kunai- he had no idea. None of the possibilities made any sense, and that was somehow even worse than the knowledge that there was someone out there planning to steal his eye.

Maybe a chocolate pastry wouldn't be such a bad idea.

* * *

Tsunade stifled a yawn against the back of her hand as she shuffled through her correspondence. It was too early in the morning for this; if she didn't have to give a stern lecture about the important of medical advice and respecting the request of your superiors' she might have been able to convince Shizune that the Hokage deserved to sleep in on the odd occasion. But instead, here she was.

Client complaint about her clothes being soiled when her shinobi escort had to tackle her to the ground because she was about to be murdered? Not today.

Correspondence chain from Suna regarding the party she meant to attend but sent Naruto instead? Could be dealt with later.

A letter from someone claiming she owed them thirty thousand ryo? Trash.

Weekly letter from the village Elders, complaining about anything and everything they could consider complaining about? Ugh. Shizune's pile.

"Good morning Hokage-sama. Sakura should be here within the hour but I doubt Hatake-san will be here before noon,"

Shizune set a steaming cup of coffee and another large stack of paper in front of her. Tsunade kicked the empty bottle of sake further underneath the desk; there was no reason for Shizune to yell at her this early in the morning. She continued sorting her mail.

"Hatake spent the night with Sakura, I doubt she would let him get away with not being punctual,"

Shizune's strangled gasp made Tsunade reach for her kunai, back tense and eyes narrowed.

"What happened? What did you see?"

Nobody would be so brazen as to attack the Hokage tower in broad daylight, would they? Where were her guards? Why had nobody alerted her to the presence of a suspicious ninja? Weren't they supposed to be on level 2 alert status?

"Kakashi and Sakura... What?"

Oh. Tsunade relaxed and flipped a pigtail over her shoulder. Maybe she needed to get a little more sleep; paranoia wasn't a good look on her. Perhaps she should have worded things a little better. Shizune saw Sakura as a young sister, or on occasion, a daughter. And there were very few things anyone liked to here as much as someone you cared for supposedly being a little more friendly with someone like Kakashi Hatake.

"When he made his great escape he apparently found his way to Sakura's apartment. I'll admit that it was a smart move; Sakura holds her teammates in a high enough regard to understand their feelings. She knew if anything went wrong, she would be capable of handling it. He's done a lot of bone headed things in his time, but seeking out one of the most proficient medics in the village after breaking out of the clinic doesn't make the cut. One of the chuunin went by to see if Sakura had seen him and apparently she lied to his face. The girl has an excellent poker face, don't ever play cards with her. His ninken were wandering outside this morning before dawn so I assume he's still there. Purely platonic, Shizune, I'm sure. I'd prefer he was in Sakura's hands anyway. The clinic is overrun enough these days, I was going to let him leave today anyway. This saved me a trip to the North District."

Shizune was obviously more relaxed at the clarification. She had seemed unimpressed that Tsunade was already drawing Sakura into her gambling habits, but Tsunade could at least justify it by admitting that Sakura was a much better risk taker than her.

Shizune frowned, "If you aren't worried that he left the clinic, why did you summon the two of them here? You know they probably think you're going to be unhappy."

Tsunade smirked and threw another gambling debt letter into the garbage, "because, Shizune. People who think they are in trouble are much more likely to do favours for you,"

She reached for a scroll that had been the bane of her existence for almost a month now. Kakashi was out of the clinic; and she was going to get this mission completed. Two birds, one stone.

She was going to ignore the deadpan look of disappointment on Shizune's face. She knew she was a genius.

* * *

"Harbouring fugitives now, are we?"

Tsunade's voice was muffled by the stacks of paperwork covering her desk; Kakashi couldn't even see any more than the very top of her head. She wasn't yelling yet, which seemed to bode well for the both of them. Kakashi had more than once opened the door only to get various items thrown in his general direction. It was definitely something that had rubbed off on Sakura.

"Shishou, he's hardly a fugitive But yes, I did give him a basic medical test and he has agreed to let you examine him if you would prefer. I did find him to be in excellent health, and well into the process of recovery from his injuries. "

Tsunade knocked a stack of papers off her desk with a particularly aggressive shove, muttering to herself as the pages fluttered to the ground. Sakura tilted her head to read the paper and sighed.

"Tsunade-shishou, this was supposed to be filed three weeks ago,"

"Well I've got a village to run! I can't help it that every single thing anyone wants done need my signature. Someone get Naruto in here and teach him to forge my signature, show him what most of his time as Hokage is really going to be like- signing papers and giving lectures. Now. Sit."

Kakashi settled himself into one of the chairs and let himself relax. Sakura's back was ramrod straight and almost felt bad for dragging her into this with him. Tsunade was obviously unhappy he had left against her orders, but he had done far worse things. Tsunade pressed the tips of her fingers together and narrowed her eyes at Kakashi.

"What part of 'stay at the clinic until I give you permission to leave' was unclear?"

Kakashi opened his mouth but Tsunade waved her hand.

"Don't answer that. Sakura- one of my chuunin is under the impression that Kakashi was at your house yesterday afternoon and you, I quote, 'blatantly lied directly to his face'. Any particular reason why?"

Sakura cleared her throat, "Ah, well... at the time he arrived I had already determined that Kakashi-sensei was in fit enough condition to not require immediate transport to either the hospital or the clinic. I checked his vitals and his chakra channels for any abnormalities and didn't find any, and I knew that if I turned him away he was just likely to run off somewhere else, so I would rather he be with me in the event of something going wrong, and-"

She chewed on her lip and Tsunade cocked an eyebrow, "Anything else to add to that?"

"... Saruto-san is kind of an asshole... Hokage-sama."

Kakashi smiled beneath his mask. Saruto Kaito was known for having his nose in the air, and Tsunade also seemed to be aware of that by the way the corner of her lip quivered, but did not curl up into a smile.

"Noted."

She dropped another pile of papers to the ground with a loud thud and ignored Sakura's flinch.

"Now, there are a number of things I _could_ do here. But I'm a very busy woman, and the two of you are adults, though you may not always act like it. So what I will do instead, for your behaviour, is request a favour,"

That couldn't be good. No lecture? No yelling? Just a favor? The crease in Sakura's brow suggested she felt the same. Tsunade swept the sleeve of her haori across the table and collected the dust before shaking it off onto the floor.

"There has been a thorn in my side for a long time now, and I'm beginning to think that I just haven't been sending the right people out for the job. But you, Hatake... I think you might be the perfect man for the mission,"

"...you're letting him go on a mission, Tsunade-sama?"

This wasn't good. There was no way Tsunade would approve him for a mission this quickly. Maybe if he made a break for the window he could survive the free fall to the ground. Even if he broke all his bones it would have to be better than whatever Tsunade was about to hand him.

"Actually, Sakura, since you have shown that you're capable of taking care of him, I thought you could supervise the mission. Shouldn't take more than a day. You don't even have to leave the village."

No. No no no. That smirk was pure evil. Tsunade held out a tightly wrapped scroll and gestured for them to leave.

"Don't overdo it. Be sure to come by when you're finished."

Kakashi waited until Tsunade's room was far behind them before he unbound the scroll. Sakura eyes were wide, he could see her holding her breath.

"...its a D rank mission."

Sakura huffed and threw her hands into the air, "this is ridiculous! What is she getting us to do, replant a flower bed? Paint a fence?"

"Catch a cat."

He heard Sakura suck a sharp breath between her teeth but didn't look up from the scroll. He would much rather catch a cat than paint a fence. At least he could get the ninken to help him.

"Mrs. Hakari says Wiggles has been missing for almost a month. She last saw him outside in her garden bed and he hasn't been seen since. No genin teams have been able to locate him. She gave us a picture, that's helpful,"

He flipped over the photo and froze.

"Sakura..."

"It isn't what it looks like!"

"Did you steal this cat?"

"I _liberated_ him!"

"Sakura!"

"Kakashi-sensei it was worse than Tora! She put him in a diaper and pushed him around Konoha in a baby carriage! And you've seen how fat he is, she let him eat an entire rotisserie chicken!"

"Sakura you can't just steal people's pets,"

"Naruto helped."

Kakashi sighed. Of course Naruto had helped. He tucked the photo back into the scroll and pointed towards Tsunade's door.

"What exactly do you suggest we tell Tsunade? Either we return the cat or-"

"We tell her we used the ninken and they didn't find him, so maybe he was stolen by someone passing through the village or he escaped into the forest. Then Wiggles loses weight, we trim his fur, and he gets adopted by a nice civilian family and lives to a good old cat age."

Something niggled in the back of Kakashi's mind. Why did this all sound so familiar? The pieces clicked into place when he remembered; nine years ago, his twelve year old students all sheepishly telling him that Tora must have escaped for good this time. How sad they were that they wouldn't be able to return him home to his inconsolable mother for the eighth time in three months.

"... Sakura. What happened to Tora?"

Sakura blinked, wide eyed and innocent.

"I don't know what you mean, Kakashi-sensei."

His former students were a menace.

* * *

Genma grunted as he lifted the last wooden fence panel into place before leaning his weight against it. He grabbed one of the nails from between his teeth and began knocking it into the wood, ignoring piercing glare of death he was receiving from the old woman in the window above him.

The reception he and the others had received from the village this time had been frosty to say the least. Where the town had been warm and welcoming when the first ANBU group passed through, they were now sullen and cold. Parents ushered their children inside as he and Anko walked the streets. All of the accommodation had suddenly been full, despite the village being empty of any passing visitors, ninja or otherwise. This had been Tsunade's concern, and her reason for sending them in after the ANBU investigation. Villages couldn't afford to not believe in the ninja who protected them.

Anko had told him of the whispering she heard in the bathhouse. The village had been simple and quiet before the arrival of Kakashi's team; and with the violation of the treaty zone only steps from their homes, they placed blame on the ninja for shattering their idyllic lives.

Tsunade had suggested the team build a small gate around the village. The gate wouldn't stop a determined enemy from entering. It was nothing in comparison to the heavily armoured entrance to Konoha, but if it would bring the civilians a peace of mind, he would stand out here in the beating sun for as long as he needed to.

This close to the Earth border, the forest began to thin. There were less trees to shade the intensity of the midday sun and he could feel the back of his neck stiffening as it burned. The last time he had been here, children had been playing in the flower fields beyond the village boundary. Now there was nothing but the chirp of birds and the quiet whispering of the wind.

Team Ebisu had even given the task of softening the anger as best they could. Tsunade had sent them with packages of medical supplies; saplings; and various items that were hard to come by this far out from the major village. Thus far, however, their efforts had mostly been in vain. The children may not know why their parents shuttered the blinds and locked the door, but Genma could admit he understood.

A broken treaty line was often just the first step. Increased shinobi presence meant something nobody ever liked to admit. Being so close to the border, this village would likely be the first casualty after a declaration of war. Anyone from his generation would remember the unsettling feelings that lingered in the air in a time where war could be declared over nothing.

He finished knocking the nails in and stood back to admire his handiwork. A rub down with some sandpaper and a slap of paint and it would be done, and then they could high tail it out of here. He was still being stared at by the woman in the window. He offered her a friendly wave and sighed when she yanked her curtains closed.

At least she wasn't trying to set him on fire with her eyes.

"Excuse me?"

Genma turned around to find a young woman standing behind him, her hands twisting nervously on the hem of her shirt. Her blonde hair was pinned high up on her head and dotted with wild flowers. He could see her eyes darting around as though at any moment someone would leap from the bushes and attack.

"Can I help you, Miss?"

"... someone in the village was talking to those ninja that kidnapped the Copy Nin. I wasn't supposed to be out past the village limit but I wanted to see if I could find some nicer flowers for my okaasan on her birthday and I saw him talking to them. He didn't see me and I didn't know they were missing nin until I heard the alert announcement later that night and I was too scared to say anything because I didn't want to get in trouble and then your friend was kidnapped in the treaty zone and I was going to say something to the ANBU but they were just so scary I didn't know what to do but now you're here and people are saying there might be a war And i don't want to just do nothing. And I'm sorry everyone is treating you and your teammates so badly but most of us live here because we wanted to be away from the shinobi lifestyle, we didn't mind when you were just passing through for mission but now our village seems right in the middle of it. Mrs Kayago up there lost her husband and her father and her two sons in the last war so she's really mad that you're here because she hates ninja and I wondered if maybe I told you who was talking to the ninja you could take him back and we could be left alone again?"

She sucked in a deep breath and stared at him with wide eyes. Genma blinked.

"...let me just get the rest of my team."

Tsunade was going to be so happy, Genma might even be able to slip a vacation request into the conversation without her noticing.


	5. Chapter 5

"So you're telling me that one of Konoha's highest ranked ANBU officers, and first choice for the next Hokage position; my own apprentice and capable jounin; and a pack of ninken dogs weren't able to locate a missing cat?"

She should never have allowed the reformation of Team Kakashi. Sensei always rubbed of too much on their students and Sakura and Naruto didn't need any extra bad habits atop their own. And yet here she was, being lied to by two of her top ninja. _Her own apprentice_ was lying to her. She knew the cat hadn't escaped; none of the cats ever escaped. The cats were always kidnapped and rehomed and lived much better lives, but dammit, this woman wouldn't leave her _alone_ until the damn cat was found or declared dead and Tsunade had better things to do than console a weeping woman who dressed her cat in human clothes.

Sakura twiddled her thumbs and shrugged one shoulder, "We even sent the ninken to sweep the mile radius around Konoha, but it seems as though Wiggles is gone. Maybe he escaped-"

"Oh, save it. Sakura, report to the hospital Monday morning; Hatake, you will attend twice weekly checkups with Shizune, Sakura or I until you are back on the mission roster. There will be a shinboi posted outside your apartment building at all times to monitor your safety and prevent you from doing anything stupid. You can resume light exercise in two days; and training within the week. You're dismissed,"

Tsunade had no doubts that if Kakashi wanted to slip his tail he would be able to do so without anyone noticing; but it was standard procedure after a situation such as this that the kidnapped ninja be under observation in case of an in village attack. It was a waste of shinobi man power in her opinion, she knew Kakashi lived in the dead center of the shinobi housing unit, with capable ninja on all sides. But if she had to listen to one more lecture about "standard protocol" from the village Elders, she was going to drink herself under the table.

Neither of the pair had moved yet, forcing Tsunade to look up from her still too large pile of paperwork. Sakura was making wide eyed 'go on, then' eyes at Kakashi, who had his head turned away from her, finding specks of dust catching the light to be endless fascinating. Tsunade gestured to Sakura, who huffed.

"Shishou, Kakashi-sensei thinks his memory may be returning. He remembers hearing the man I killed in the hideout speaking with someone else about a payment, which could mean the ninja we interrogated would have been hired,"

Excellent. More paperwork.

"And you didn't bring this to my attention this morning for what reason?"

Sakura looked at Kakashi, who was now inspecting the ceiling and pointedly not saying anything.

"Well, I had assumed Kakashi-sensei would tell you himself, but I guess he didn't feel it was relevant,"

Kakashi was still gazing at the ceiling as though he were unaware he was being spoken about. Say what you like about the man, but he excellent in the art of selective hearing and ignorance. Tsunade arched an eyebrow at her apprentice, who shrugged again in a 'your guess is as good as mine' gesture.

"Very well then, you may go,"

Kakashi's chair scraped and Tsunade threw a decorative ink well at the back of his head, watching as it bounced off and rolled away.

"Sakura can leave. You are staying. Sit."

Sakura was ignoring the one eye eyed glare of doom Kakashi was giving her and headed for the door with a bounce in her step and a wave. When the door closed behind her, Kakashi frowned.

"She stole that cat, you know."

"I know she did. Naruto helped. I just thought if I got someone she looked up to involved, her moral compass might make her return him. Looks like she's got a mind of her own now though."

Tsunade made her way across the room and opened a large, ornate cabinet. The small blue box was nestled at the very back, reserved for special occasions. She set it on the table and stared Kakashi down.

"How about a conversation between two friends?"

A trick she had learned from the Third, in his day. Sometimes, it was hard to break free of the hierarchy that separated people. Though she did her best to be open to opinions, too often people hid their true feelings for fear of upsetting their Hokage. It was why she loved Shizune and Sakura; both of whom knew her to her core and rarely held back with their feelings. She knew she had piqued Kakashi's interest because he sat down without complaint. Tsunade lifted the heavy lid and removed two small sake cups, their deep blue now faded to a soft periwinkle. The delicate koi fish design had begun to fade as well, taking the bright orange fish to a muted coral. She poured a generous amount of sake into each porcelain cup and pushed one across to Kakashi.

"Until these cups are empty, we are nothing more than two friends. I'm not your Hokage, or your superior in any way. Anything you say here won't affect how I treat you when you leave, you have my word,"

He was definitely interested.

She sipped from her cup and regarded him curiously.

"Why didn't tell you tell your memory was returning?"

"I had to be sure. Besides, I didn't know anything other than that they were paid, which I'm sure your ANBU team likely already knew,"

He had pulled his mask down. Tsunade couldn't help but drink in the view, she knew there were more than a handful of women in the village who considered seeing under Kakashi Hatake's mask to be akin to a religious experience.

"It's a strong assumption at best. Shino and his team tried to go back to where we found you, but the place was destroyed. We're dealing with a bigger picture here, but for now we just don't have the right perspective. I would prefer, from now on, if you would be so kind as to keep me in the loop about these things,"

She rubbed her finger along the rim of her cup and sighed, "If you were willing to consent to it; a Mind Body Justu might be able to recover some of your memories. Only at your discretion, of course. There wouldn't be a guarantee that we could access your memories from before you were taken, and I'm sure you wouldn't want Yamanaka rummaging around in your brain if it wasn't necessary,"

"How kind of you to think of me, Tsunade-sama,"

She sank back against her chair and waited for him to ask whatever question he was keeping tucked behind his tongue. She had done this enough times to know when someone had something they were desperate to say to her. He seemed to gather enough courage after his next sip of sake.

"I mentioned to Sakura yesterday that I wanted to check up on her after her first ANBU mission, and I saw her shoulders tense. I've known her a long time, so I know when she's hiding something from me. How many missions have you sent her on?

Tsunade's hand hovered above her drink and she carefully weighed her options before replying.

"Sakura has been a designated medic on over a dozen ANBU missions, and a ninja on at least five. Yours was most likely her sixteenth mission with an ANBU team, give or take,"

He looked terrified. The same spark of terror he had seen flicker in his eye when Naruto had brazenly kicked her door in and demanded Tsunade's signature on his request for an ANBU-level practice exam. There was really no coming back from ANBU; she had seen so many ninja who once coveted the swirling tattoo to now considered it a brand; a shackle they couldn't lose. Cattle lined up for slaughter.

"Why have you been sending her on ANBU missions, she isn't ANBU,"

Tsunade flicked a pigtail behind her ear and raised the cup to her lips, "Technically, neither are you. And yet here we are."

Kakashi glared at her, though he said nothing.

"Sakura is only not already ANBU for convenience sake. Civilians and shinobi alike are often too proud or too scared to accept help from someone with an ANBU tattoo. She cares too much for her medical field to ever sacrifice it for a somewhat dirty business. Ibiki has invited her many times to join his interrogation squad. Personally, in fact,"

Kakashi clenched the cup in his fist, and Tsunade knew she had hit against a nerve. Ibiki didn't personally invite just anyone to his squad. He was one the most particular shinobi when it came to selection of his teammates.

Had it been a different time, Taunde may have been offended for her student, that her close friend and former sensei was questioning her position on an ANBU team. But Tsunade already knew knew why he was asking all of these questions, she had seen it in the way his eyes hardened when they landed on Sakura, the hint of something that hadn't been there before this particular mission. It was a feeling she had come to terms with herself a few years ago.

He knew, deep inside himself, that Sakura was qualified for ANBU. If he was to be honest with himself, he would know she was more qualified than anyone in her jounin group, Naruto and his jinchuriki status excluded; and perhaps even more so than some of the ANBU already on the squad.

She decided to help him along in his revelation a little, the way Jiraya had when she drank herself into a stupor and cried all over him the day she realized Sakura had exceeded all expectations and had become a kunoichi to be feared.

"Ever since I came to Konoha, villages always reach out when they're in need. Usually they need a medic nin; sometimes they have a problem they aren't sure even their best shinobi can handle," she gestured to a large stack of rolled papers by a bookshelf, "Obviously, I couldn't take all of them. Or even most of them. But I would do what I could; a shinobi squad here and there. Shizune when I could spare her. But Sakura took most of the medic nin requirements. And then, little by little, I began to notice something," Tsunade cradled the cup to her chest and smiled softly, "They stopped asking for me. Letter upon letter asking if the great Konohagakure could spare the medic nin with the pink hair. Villages we owed no debt to; villages we have had no dealings with,"

Kakashi was taking more liberal sips from his sake now, though Tsunade couldn't say whether or not it was because he wanted this conversation to be over, or he was needing something to keep him grounded. Tsunade reached into her desk and removed a scroll of paper, bound with the seal of Kirigakure.

"Two years ago; a messenger sent word that half of Kiri's population had come down with some sort of sickness. From their own investigation, the cause was entirely natural, but their medics were suffering under the weight. I wrote to Mei and offered her my services…. to which she politely asked if I could send Sakura to assist with the recovery of Kiri instead,"

Kakashi didn't have time to hide his surprise, and Tsunade knew she had him, hook line and sinker.

"But-"

"But nothing. Mei was right… Sakura had, at that point, surpassed me as a medic. And by now she has definitely surpassed me as a kunoichi. But I was so busy seeing myself in her that I didn't take the time to realize she was her own person, and she was so much stronger in all the ways I wish I had been. I cried for days, not because I was hurt that she had surpassed me, but because I realized that she wasn't going to ever have the luxury of returning to the gentle world she had come from. I keep this here for those days when I forget I'm not her mother; for when I find myself second guessing whether or not she can do something. She's a grown woman now, Kakashi, don't beat yourself up for taking some time to notice,"

"She shattered a ninja's skull with her bare hands," Kakashi supplied, "I saw his brain explode, and then I saw her face. How did I miss her become so strong?"

Tsunade laughed, "For me it was when we were training. I thought I had her, and then suddenly I was being thrown across the training ground by my ankle. Went right through one of the trees; she was healing me when I came to. Poor thing was frantic, she apologized for days. It's easy to miss, Kakashi. People like you and I have seen so much war and death, we want our students to stay innocent. But that isn't how the world is anymore, and they're probably safer for it,"

She raised her sake to him and finished the last of it. She was wiping it out when she noticed Kakashi tilting his own cup towards her. A tiny drip of sake sat at the bottom, not even enough to wet his lips. She raised her eyebrow and set everything down. A deal was a deal.

"She talked about Sasuke yesterday,"

Ah. Tsunade suddenly had the urge to pour herself another drink.

"Does she know?" Kakashi asked, refusing to break eye contact.

"No. It's a necessary evil, Kakashi. The truth would only hurt her,"

"I thought you just told me to acknowledge the kunoichi she has become; doesn't that contradict it?"

"...if you want to be the bearer of that particular message, Hatake... be my guest,"

Kakashi caught the drip of sake on his finger and sucked it off. He rose from his chair and bowed, low and respectful.

"Thank you for your time, Hokage-sama,"

"A pleasure, Hatake."

* * *

"I have rights!"

Genma rolled his eyes as he dragged the struggling civilian out of his home. There was a small crowd forming, pointing and whispering at him. Team Ebisu were working crowd control to try and keep the particularly nosy villagers at bay. This whole thing was playing out like a bad shinobi drama that Shizune watched during her breaks.

"Yes, as a citizen of Fire Country, you have rights," Anko assured him, her mouth curling up into a wicked grin before she continued, "But we have an eye witness account of you conversing with missing nin and not reporting them to your village police; which then resulted in a young girl from this village being in a situation where she could have been killed; and also caused a ninja from Konohagakure to almost be killed. Some people might even go as far as to call that, say, treason? So, with all those possible charges stacked up against you, you can either cooperate with us and be allowed to go free, or, you can not cooperate and I will knock you out and drag you to the Godaime regardless, where you'll _then_ be forced to tell us what happened and be charged with resisting a shinobi,"

Genma snorted as he felt the man go limp in his arms. Seemed Anko watched those dramas as well. It wasn't as dramatic as she had made it sound; the worst they could do to the man was have him charged with not reporting suspicious ninja, certainly not treason. But Anko had read the situation well and the civilian was eating out of the palm of her hand.

The whispering had gotten louder now. Was every damn person in the village turned out to watch this all go down? Technically, the squad was supposed to stay another night, but with the new turn of events it looked like they were going to be able to get out of here. Even if they didn't reach Konoha until nearly dawn, there was too much small-town paranoia going on in here. It wouldn't be good for their image, but Tsunade could send another mission squad.

Or Lee and Gai. They could spread some positivity out here.

Genma passed through the crowd with the man following behind him. The people parted without prompting, and Genma caught a hushed whisper from one of the pre teens watching from behind a bush.

"Reckon they're gonna kill him?"

"Oh yeah, they're gonna like go into his brain and take all his memories away and then he's gonna die,"

Genma rolled his eyes.

He was so ready to head home to Shizune.

"Treason, huh?" he muttered to Anko as she sidled up beside him. She gave him a shove and looked over her shoulder at the man, who had his eyes now fixed on the dirt beneath their feet and was saying nothing.

"Shut up, it worked didn't it? We could keep him here and just get him to tell us what happened, but the Hokage wants us to bring anything we think is important back to Konoha. Even if he just talked to them about planting some damn daisies, there might have been something they said or did that could tell us where they were from originally. Besides, maybe if we treat him nice and bring him back, Tsunade won't make us come back out here to play nice with everyone again,"

"You mean you aren't enjoying all this village has to offer?" Genma snarked.

He looked towards a shop window and saw the blind snap closed instantly. Charming little village it was; he'd be sure to recommend it to all his friends. Team Ebisu was taking care of their civilian friend; Konohamaru motoring his mouth off at him about how nice Tsunade was, and how they swore they only needed him to make sure nobody else was going to get hurt. When they had made their way out of the village boundary, Anko stopped taking point and fell back to him, dropping her voice to a whisper.

"Be pretty stupid of a hired missing nin to let a civilian see their face, especially if they were about to go and kidnap one of Konoha's biggest ninja,"

"Pretty stupid of a missing nin in general to let a young girl see them and not kill her on the spot," Genma added.

So then they were on the same page. The ninja had wanted to be seen. For what purpose was still unknown, and they were dead and rotting now. But unknown ninja in an area almost always sparked panic; had that been their play? It had worked; the village had been practically vibrating with the news when Kakashi's ANBU team arrived, it was what had caused them to detour from their intended route across the bridge.

Genma narrowed his eyes and reached for his map.

"We're heading back to Konoha, the hell you need a map for?"

"Moegi, come up front!"

The only female of Team Ebisu peered around Genma's shoulder and blinked, "Yes, Shiranui-san?"

He held the map out to her and pointed to their approximate location, "Let's say I needed to get to Earth country from here; what's the fastest way?"

"The Kannabi bridge, Shiranui-san, it's the fastest way to get into Grass Country and then you make your way to Earth from there,"

Genma nodded, "And if the Kannabi bridge wasn't able to be crossed for some reason?"

Moegi chewed her bottom lip and squinted at the map, "You'd only be able to take this section here," she pointed off to the right, exactly the location the ANBU team had chosen to take, "There's just cliffs everywhere else that fall into the river, you wouldn't be able to get across,"

Genma and Anko shared a look. If a chuunin could figure out that there were only two viable entry and exit points from the section of Fire into Grass; a group of shinobi would be able to as well. Most shinobi would take the most direct and heavily guarded route to prevent any unexpected attacks, unless of course, the most direct route had already had a group of suspicious shinobi reported. Genma had to resist the urge to smack himself in the head. It had been a set up, and they had fallen right into it.

"Thank you, Moegi-chan," the girl blushed to the roots of her hair and fell back to the rest of her teammates.

"Everyone pick up the pace, we need to be back in Konoha as soon as possible."

He took back what he said about Tsunade being happy. She was going to be pissed.

* * *

How did anyone in Suna live like this?

Naruto had entered the surrounding area of Suna only a few hours before and he was already soaked through with sweat. There was no breeze in the air, only the heat of the sun and the dryness of sand. The impossibly tall walls around the village brought some welcomed shade, though only for a moment before several shinboi were standing before him, cold and unflinching.

"State your business,"

"Uzumaki Naruto of Konohagakura, I'm here on invitation of the Kazekage, Suna no Gaara,"

Tsunade had been specific about how he was to introduce himself. Even though he had been to Suna many times before, there had been too many attempted attacks on the village in the last few months. He held one hand open in the air as he reached for his scroll with the other, showing them the wax seal of the Kazekage. The shinboi relaxed a fraction, but made no move to retreat.

"You will be escorted to the Kazekage's tower. Come,"

They were already through the gates and leaping on rooftops. Naruto groaned; he'd already raced here as fast as he could, eager to visit his old friend. He took of after them, feeling a hot wind on his face that was somehow worse than no wind at all. Gaara was waiting for him when they landed on the balcony of the tower.

"Thank you. You may leave us,"

Gaara didn't make eye contact, which made Naruto frown. It had been months since he had the opportunity to see Gaara, he had been expecting a similar welcome to the last time they had seen each other. But this seemed different. Tense. Like nothing good was about to happen.

"Naruto, I consider you a... a friend," Gaara began. Naruto could see the hesitation of the word before he spoke it, as though it pained him to let it fall from his lips or felt wrong on his tongue.

"Ne, Gaara, we _are_ friends!"

Gaara raised his hand and Naruto fell silent. He didn't like the seriousness on Gaara's face or the tension in his shoulders. Something felt wrong here.

"Naruto... I'm afraid there is something I need to ask you. If it was anyone else, I wouldn't bother, but I know you and I trust your judgement without question. How well do you know the Godaime?"

A frown creased on his brow.

"Baa-chan? I dunno, we brought her back to Konoha to become Hokage, and she is pretty awesome. She saves a bunch of people all the time and she let me go away with Jiraya-sama when I wanted to learn more. Why, is something wrong?"

Gaara unfurled a scroll from the desk and Naruto could see the symbol of Iwagakure in dark ink at the top. The scroll had been sealed with a blood red wax and a black symbol. A classified correspondence, only able to be opened with the blood of the intended recipient. He felt a twist in his gut.

"When I was preparing to host the Kages here in Suna, I sent an open invitation to all villages, and in return, I received a message from Iwa. The Tsuchikage urged me to reconsider the previous animosity between our ninja villages, and suggested we instead form a friendship. I was... suspicious. I'm sure you know that Iwa and Suna don't have the best history, so for them to reach out this way, I wasn't sure I wanted to place my village in that position,"

Despite the severity of the conversation, and the pending sense that it was only going to get worse from here, Naruto couldn't help but feel a swell of pride when Gaara referred to Suna as his village. Naruto knew Gaara often doubted his place here, and it had taken a long time before Naruto had been able to convince him that Suna would be much worse off without him. Gaara rubbed his finger over the red and black seal, a dry crust of blood flaking onto the floor.

"After consulting with some advisors, and Temari and Kankuro, I asked the Tsuchicake what exactly they wanted from the alliance. I wasn't naive enough to believe that they wanted nothing from me. And then they sent this,"

He offered Naruto the scroll with no emotion in his eyes. Blue eyes scanned over the paper, his frown growing deeper until he snarled, throwing the scroll across the room and getting to his feet.

"They think Baa-chan is trying to start a war? She's done nothing but try and stop it since the beginning! And there's no way she's responsible for all these missing ninja! Why would they even think that!"

"Naruto, lower you voice and calm down. As I said, I consider you a friend. Konoha has been a great ally to Suna, especially since I became Kazekage. I had no reason to believe your Hokage was responsible for any of this, or that she was secretly plotting a war. But I trust your opinion, and had you expressed any doubts in her, I would have looked into it further,"

He was burning with rage, he could feel the anger roaring into his throat like a suppressed scream that he tried to control. Tsunade had done so much for Konoha and the villages around it; sent so many of her own ninja into other countries to try and save people she didn't know, but who meant something to someone.

"There's something else, Naruto,"

Gaara seemed to hesitate for a moment before he crouched down to be level with Naruto in his chair. He reached out a hand and lay it gently atop Naruto's.

"...they suggested that your Hokage had something to do with Uchiha Sasuke's death."

Naruto saw red, and then darkness.


	6. Chapter 6

Naruto' s head was throbbing when he opened his eyes. He could see three splotches of colour governing above him, blurry and swirling.

"I told you I didn't hit him that hard."

"You didn't have to hit him at all, Kankuro,"

"I dunno, he seemed like he was about to try and singlehandedly break his way into Iwa and have a loud conversation with the Kage. Thought we would all want to avoid it."

Naruto' s vision was clearing up, bringing onto focus the three Sand Siblings. Kankuro look sheepish, and Temari was waving one of her fans over Naruto's face.

"We're so sorry about that Naruto, Kankuro panicked and hit you with a puppet leg."

That explained the headache. He blinked the last of the hazy fog from his eyes and sought Gaara, who reached out his hand to help Naruto off the floor.

"Before my brother tried to bludgeon you, I was going to say that I don't believe Tsunade-sama had anything to do with Sasuke' s death, Naruto. But I thought it would be important for you to know that things like that are being said. I trust in our friendship more than the word of a Nation who has ulterior motives in our allyship. But I felt it was important for you to know that it is likely the Tsuchikage has shared his opinion with more people than just me. Since you believe so firmly in your Hokage, I will also stand by her,"

Naruto had to resist the urge to grab Gaara in a tight hug. Knowing that Gaara had wanted Naruto's opinion before he considered anything; and that he had shared the warning of a pending coup against Tsunade was more than just a gesture of kindness. It was a testament to their friendship, and showed just how deeply Gaara was willing to place the trust of his life, and his village, in Naruto.

"The Kages will be arriving over the next three days, as well as various representatives from their Nations. Since Tsunade isn't here to speak on her own behalf, I am leaving it up to you to convince the others of her trustworthiness. Discretion will be the key, obviously. I will speak with the Tsuchikage myself, and try and diffuse this situation. We don't need another war, Naruto. There's been too much blood in the past, I would prefer we keep it there."

Naruto wanted to protest. Making allegations as serious as this was unacceptable; but he knew why Gaara wanted to keep things calm and discreet. If the situation could be nipped in the bud before it escalated, they could prevent any unnecessary hostility. More than there already was, at least. The thought that someone was accusing Tsunade of such horrible things, behind her back no less, made his skin crawl. Tsunade had done so much for so many people, and rarely asked for anything in return except the respect she was deserved.

There was an uncomfortable feeling burrowing into his gut. Like something bad was peering over the horizon, just waiting for the right moment to strike.

* * *

Kakashi's apartment was stifled with hot air when he opened the door. Untouched for almost three weeks now, the air was thick with the heat of the spring days. He pried open the bedroom window, grateful for the rush of cool, late afternoon on the cusp of early evening air that burst into the room and ruffled his hair.

"How'd it go, boss?"

Kakashi looked down at Pakkun and didn't answer. There were far more pressing questions to be asking right now.

"How often are you and the rest of the ninken at Sakura's place?"

Pakkun scrunched his nose, "I dunno. Few times a week? She's nice, she lets us sit on the couch with her when she does her paperwork and we can sleep in her bed; and she lets us eat her leftovers. She even gave Bisuke tips on how to talk to Kita, and you know how that turned out."

Kita was one of the Aburame clan ninken; expecting her first litter with Bisuke within in the next few weeks. His ninken had been falling over himself when she was around for almost a year. Kakashi had always wondered what had prompted Bisuke to make the move that led him to becoming a father.

"When was the first time?"

He didn't really notice the coming and going of his ninken if it wasn't directly mission related. He knew some ninja liked to keep their animals on short leashes and strict routines, but Kakashi could never bring himself to not let them live their own lives. They had always done above and beyond what he needed them to. Including, apparently, keeping one his students company without him even noticing.

"Bout the time the Uchiha kid died. You asked me and Bull to follow her after the funeral in case she got too upset but she knew we were following her within the first few blocks. She's a super sharp one, that kunoichi. She let us come inside and she made us some sausages. Then she said we could stay with her if we ever wanted to. Her bed's really comfortable,"

The day of Sasuke's funeral had been almost a full year ago now. He remembered watching from a distance. It hadn't felt right to be there, though he knew his former students had sensed his presence. He wasn't annoyed at his ninken, it was just surprising that they had been close with her for so long.

"We didn't see her as much after the loud blonde girl moved in with her. Maybe once a week. She really cares about you and the Fox kid, she's always complaining that neither of you take better care of yourselves."

That was no surprise. Sakura made no effort in keeping her feelings about a lack of medical attention hidden.

"Thank you, Pakkun."

He didn't know if he was thanking him for the information or for taking care of Sakura. Maybe both. His conversation with Tsunade was still rolling over in his head, the idea that his student was sought after by Kages and ANBU for her abilities seemed so strange to grasp. She had managed to become am accomplished shinobi without letting the same darkness and grit work it's way into her bones.

He was so proud.

A flash of silver outside his window caught his eye. The sun bounced off the hitai-ate of his chaperone on the ground below him. He offered a peace sign, and received nothing and return.

This was going to be excellent. He could tell.

* * *

 _Dearest husband, I do hope my letter finds you well._

 _Since you rarely ever write, I'm certain that you haven't heard about the concerning situation with your grandson. Seems as though nobody ever told him that dabbling in dangerous things is all fun and games until someone loses an eye. I am sure you know something about that._

 _You'll be happy to know that my garden is still blooming. The pink roses are particularly stunning this year, though the yellow could do with some affection._

 _I'm concerned there might be an infestation of bugs headed our way soon. I've heard frogs are particularly good at keeping gardens healthy. Any thoughts?_

 _Hoping to hear back from you soon._

 _All my love._

 _Your wife_

Tsunade bound the scroll to the raven' s leg; hoping that Jiraiya was sticking to his usual routines while in Earth. The bird was soaring off into the distance when her door opened, an unfortunately familiar and always unwanted face peering around the heavy oak.

"Danzo-san, I didn't know the custom of knocking had been forgotten."

She could tell he didn't appreciate her tone, but she held her ground. Danzo wholeheartedly believed that he ran Konoha under her feet and she wasn't aware. All the whispers and all the secrets made their way back to her, and she knew a lot of them were distractions to try and keep her head turned from whatever was going on behind her back. The Sandaime may have been kind enough to believe the best in people, but Tsunade had learned the hard way that no amount of good could redeem some people.

"My apologies, Hokage-sama. I was merely wondering if we could have an audience together."

'No' probably wasn't an acceptable answer, so she gestured to the chair and resumed her seat.

"It has come to my attention that there are several scrolls missing from the Elders archives. Valuable scrolls."

Tsunade clenched her jaw, "How unfortunate, Danzo-san. I'll be sure to make a note of it. Which ones have been taken?"

She already knew the answer. Sharingan scrolls, undoubtedly. How convenient that it was timed with the possible attempt on Kakashi's Sharingan.

"I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to say at this present moment. Especially considering the scrolls went missing shortly after we allowed you, your apprentice, and your poison expert into our archives to use the information about historic poisons and antidotes. You see, of course, where I am going with this."

Tsunade could hear her jaw crack under the stress of her teeth. She wanted to throw anything she could get her hands on at the smug idiot, but she refrained.

"Unfortunately, given that my medics and I haven't entered your archives in over two months now; you've either not noticed your missing scrolls, or you have failed to report it. Both of which, I can assure you, are very troubling things to consider."

He was going to come into her office and accuse her and her medics of stealing scrolls from the Elder archives? She ought to rip his head right from his shoulders.

"Well, we needed to be sure-"

"I can assure you, Danzo-san, that neither I nor my medics entered any of the vaults besides the ones we were given access to. A simple chakra log check would prove that. So unless it is medical scrolls you are missing, I will kindly pretend this enter conversation didn't happen and allow you to go. Be sure to locate them though, or I will have to report the potential leak of Fire Nation information to the daimyo.

Danzo looked like he had swallowed a lemon, it was a face that Tsunade would treasure until the day she died. She waved him away with a pleasant smile before turning back to her paperwork. She didn't hear him leave for a long time, but forced herself to keep her head down she wouldn't allow Danzo the satisfaction of getting into her head. Had the Sandaime not idiotically pardoned the man for his previous crimes of treason, she would have had him thrown out of the village and onto his was the first chance she got. But danzo was smarter now; he knew he had eyes on him from every angle. But the second he placed a toe out of line, Tsunade was going to land a chakra laden foot to his ass and watch him soar right over the treetops.

She wouldn't speak it aloud for fear of one of Danzo's squirrely little ROOT ninja overhearing, but she had already considered the possibility that the person with interest in Kakashi's Sharingan was someone within the village. Some who had lingered for too long over Sasuke Uchiha's corpse; and grieved the loss of a Sharingan, not the last living member of an ancient and noble clan that had been a foundation of Konoha. There was no proof, of course, that Danzo was involved. Admittedly, Kakashi was wanted by a number of shinobi across the Nations for a variety of reasons; and ever since the news that the there was only one living host of the Sharingan remaining had worked its way through the country, that desire had only grown.

She hated politics. She never should have let the damn Uzumaki kid talk her into this.

Actually, it had been Jiraiya's idea, if she recalled. She could make him suffer for it the next time she saw him.

She turned and looked out her window, staring over the top of her village and up at the carved faces of the Hokage that came before her. Ones who had soldiered on through wars, treason, and what could have been the end of the village. It was maybe too much for her to hope that her time as Hokage was quiet and peaceful. It was seeming like it would be less likely by the day.

"Maybe I should retire right now and just let Hatake take over." She mused.

That would be something to see.

She sighed and slumped down in her chair, rolling her shoulders and propping her elbows onto the desk. She was almost certain that the 'missing scrolls', if they were missing at all, were related to the Sharingan. It was too much of a coincidence to assume otherwise. But it could also be another one of Danzo's many attempts to distract her from other goings on in the depths of Konoha.

Accusing her and her team had been an attempt at lighting her fuse, and she had almost taken the bait. She would have to be far more careful around him in the future, but today was not that day.

* * *

Sakura's kunai smashed through the centre of the target, the added chakra forcing it to splinter and explode with the strength. Eight wooden targets were now nothing but a useless stack of splinters, but Sakura was more confident in her new technique. Over her years of training with Tsunade, she had learned that fighting wasn't always about having a better jutsu. For specialized techniques it could lend the upper hand, but Sakura had found more often than not, sheer brute force had been more than enough to get her through the battle and able to do her medic duties.

Infusing items with chakra had been easy, but manipulating the right amount of chakra into the blade to cause it to spread out on contact and rip through the target had been difficult. A lot of trial and error; a few explosions; and more than a few sheepish conversations with Yamato about why she needed him to rebuild most of the training gear on the field-and she was pretty sure she had it down.

It was nearly dusk; the sun had sunk almost entirely beyond the horizon, leaving only a hazy strip of brilliant orange and pink before it bled upwards into the deep blue of a springtime evening. The setting of the sun had done wonders for the heat, though no teasing breeze could peel the sweat slicked hair from her face. The sweat on her arms caught the chill and she trembled. Maybe it was time to head home.

She hoped Kakashi wasn't too mad at her for leaving him to Tsunade, but after he admitted to her that he was willing to not tell the Hokage about his memory, she couldn't let him get away with it.

"Yo,"

"Gyah!"

Sakura jumped backwards, her fist pulling back instinctively before she saw Kakashi in front of her. Think of the devil and he shall appear, apparently.

"Did I scare you?"

"...no."

He was smirked under the mask, she could see it. She bent down to retrieve her weapons and brushed dirt, grass and cooling sweat off her clothes and body. Kakashi was frowning at her targets, head tilted in consideration.

"Will you teach me how to do that?"

She balked, sure she hadn't heard him correctly. Her technique wasn't anything special, just timing and chakra balance. If he tried it himself, she was sure he would be able to do it faster than she had. Especially if he used the Sharingan. But he was watching her expectantly.

"Tsunade-sama said no training until next week,"

"This is hardly training, Sakura. Just two friends sharing a technique, that's harmless, isn't it?"

She was going to have to put up with this crap until Tsunade cleared him for training, she could already tell. She could see his shinobi tail off in the distance and she waved. Kakashi looked offended when the man waved back, but he didn't say anything.

"I'll show you one time, but you're not allowed to try until Tsunade-sama gives you approval. I'm not doing another D-Rank mission."

She pulled one of her kunai from the bag and flipped it in her palm, feeling the weight of it settle against her. She let chakra seep from her palms, small tendrils curling around the blade and vibrating with intensity.

"You want your chakra level to be about seven eighths of the weight of whatever you're throwing. More than that and it explodes too soon, and any less it will explode too late or not at all. You also need to consider the density of what you're throwing it at, it's better if your chakra expands from the kunai in the centre of the target, it will cause maximum damage."

It was strange, having Kakashi watching her so intently. He didn't even have his hitai-ate up, instead relying on her description.

"Then you just.. throw it."

Her kunai spun through the air and connected with the second last target. Wood pieces exploded into the air and Sakura smiled with pride.

"It would be a useful technique in a battle with multiple ninja," Kakashi complimented.

Sakura pushed her sticky hair away from her forehead, "I thought so. If the enemy catches the projectile, it will still explode in their hands. If they dodge, the chakra will expand once it hits the ground and maybe daze them for a moment or two."

"Its excellent work, Sakura. When Tsunade gives me approval, maybe I can try it for myself."

Sakura didn't bother to try and hide her smile this time. She knew by the way Kakashi's eye crinkled that he was returning it.

"What are you doing this far out on the training grounds?" She narrowed her eyes, "You weren't training, were you?"

Kakashi stuffed his hands in his pockets, "I thought maybe I should repay you for apparently feeding my ninken regularly for the last year." He rummaged around in his pocket and removed a small green stone. Sakura let him drop it into her palm and she began to inspect it. It was smooth and perfectly round, the inner core of the stone pulsing softly.

"A chakra stone?"

It was an interesting choice of repayment, not that she needed any. Chakra stones were mostly used for short distance communication, a single thread of chakra infused into them by one user. When the chakra user touched the original stone, it sent a pulse of chakra to the stones with the thread to alert whoever had the stone that they were needed. The hospital had used them years ago, well before her time. She didn't know many people who used them these days. Not any that weren't...super old.

"When you get a chakra pulse, come to this address," Kakashi handed her a square white card with his usual chicken scratch on it.

"Why, what's happening?"

He didn't answer her, not that she had really expected him to. Kakashi touched the stone lightly and it didn't flare green or heat against her hand; which meant whoever had their chakra infused into to stone, it wasn't Kakashi.

That gave her even more questions she knew he wouldn't answer.

"Goodnight, Sakura."

"Goodnight?"

He was already walking away.

What a strange man.

* * *

"Identify yourselves!"

Genma shielded his eyes from the bright spotlight and held his hand in the air, showing no weapon. The Konoha gates was a sight he would always cherish. No matter how long the mission, or the severity, there was something calming about the looming green gates that brought a sense of calm to his chest.

"Shiranui Genma; Mitarashi Anko; and Team Ebisu. We have returned early from a mission assigned by the Godaime to provide peace offerings and assistance to a Fire Country village. We have a witness to the kidnapping of Hatake Kakashi who has come willingly to provide information in exchange for his release,"

The spotlight pulled away and Genma sighed. He was hot, he was tired, and if he had to listen to Konohamaru explaining the benefits of the Sexy no Jutsu again he was going to throw the kid. That was if Anko didn't get there first. He was going to make his mission report; head home; shower, and then hope Shizune was feeling up for some good old-

"DOWN!"

Genma hit the dirt, the sound of a shuriken whizzing by his ear making him reach for his weapons. He looked for the Chunin first, finding them a few feet away with their faces shielded. He didn't have a chance to think about why before several explosions rocked the area at once throwing him off his feet and into the air. He could see movement in the guard tower, heard yelling from around him. Thick black smoke was filling the air, working into his lungs and choking him. The Chunin must have seen the tag but known they couldn't escape in time. He needed to find them; he needed to find Anko. He turned his head and met with the glazed eyes of the man they has brought to Konoha, his neck rotated 180 degrees and blood oozing from the corner of his mouth.

"Motherfuc- ANKO!"

He couldn't see the Chunin for the smoke, and he had lost sight of Anko. His adrenaline was spiked, his body bruised and covered in dirt but he was ready to fight. There would be Konoha nin swarming the area any moment now; he knew Raidou and Iwashi would keep Tsunade safe if the gates came down. But he needed to find his team.

"CALL OUT!"

His ear was ringing from the explosive tags but he concentrated on listening for the sound of something, anything. He stumbled through the smoke and felt his foot connect with something solid. Dropping to his knees, he crouched as close as he could. Something wet stained the tips of his fingers and a trickle of wind urged the smoke gently away. Genma's heart leaped into his throat when he could finally make out Konohamaru's face, a shuriken embedded in his throat and blood spilling down his chest.

Genma ripped his hitai-ate from his head and pushed it to the bloodied wound before throwing Konohamaru over his shoulder. He could hear shouting, closer this time; and he made his way in the direction of the gates, peeking out above the clouds of smoke. He could see shinobi pouring out, ready for an attack. Genma clung to Konohamaru and pointed into the smoke.

"Anko, Moegi and Udon are still in there, status unknown! Our witness is dead, find the body and bring it back. Someone get me a goddamn medic!"

Komohamaru was whimpering, each movement sending a squirt of red liquid onto Genma's shirt that was soaking into his skin. Shinobi were scattered around the area, though there were no obvious sounds of battle.

"Chunin coming out!"

Moegi had taken the brunt of an explosive tag; the skin of her face raw and angry, several chunks of her razed to her scalp. But she was conscious, and alive. And sobbing.

"Udon jumped in front of Anko-san! He saw another explosive tag and he jumped right in front of her! WHERE IS UDON!"

Someone was trying to take Konohamaru from him, he could feel the tug at his shoulder. He turned, ready to yell in their face. He saw a shock of pink hair and wide green eyes and he sighed.

"Sakura, he took a shuriken to the throat. I put pressure on it but I had to move him, the smoke was too thick-"

"You did good, Genma, now step back for me, okay?"

She was wearing a bright orange shirt, one of Naruto's he assumed by the colour and the way it fell to her ankles. He set Konohamaru down and watched more blood pour from his throat; his skin china white and his eyes wide but not moving. He could hear Moegi still sobbing in the background, but it was broken by the calls of Anko's name. He looked up to see her limping from the slowly clearing smoke, dragging an unconscious Udon behind her. When she saw Genma and Moegi, she dropped to her knees and coughed, wiping soot and dirt off her face with a dirty hand and only succeeding in making more of a mess.

"Saw the shuriken," she rasped, "Didn't see the ninja,"

She fell forward, eyes rolling back into her head. More medics were rushing from the gates of Konoha, arms laden with supplies and calling for assistance. Genma saw Shizune, but she looked right past him and he knew she had caught sight of Konohamaru. Sakura's hands were bright green, contrasting with the slickness of the blood on her hands. She had removed the shuriken and thrown it to the dirt, where Genma picked it up. No obvious marks, no specialty engravings. It wasn't even as detailed as the standard shuriken supplied to genin.

"Shizune, I need a room at the hospital and bags of O negative. We'll need to move him on a stretcher, there's no way he has enough strength to survive a chakra move. Get me gauze, and someone... someone contact his next of kin."

There was so much blood; Sakura had wiped her hands on her legs at some point, curving dark streaks on her pale skin. She was focused so intensely on Konohamaru, her brow furrowed and her chakra pouring into him in swirling patterns of green light. His vision was becoming fuzzy at the edges; the cacophony around him fading in and out of clarity. He saw Shizune, beautiful as she was every day, and then he let his knees give out from under him.


	7. Chapter 7

The stretcher for Konohamaru's transport came almost as soon as she requested it, but it felt like years. Konohamaru's blood stained the ground around them, sinking into the dirt with enough volume to muddy it. She hadn't wanted to remove the skuriken, but if it had been a poisoned blade, the longer it was in there, the faster his condition would decline. Genma's adrenaline rush had apparently faded; not that she had expected any less. She could see Shizune from the corner of her eyes, and felt a surge of pity for the woman.

"Shizune, find Himari and have her do preliminary assessment on Udon, Anko and Genma. I don't see any major damage on them from over here, but anything internal needs to be handled. Then transport Moegi,"

Sakura looked to the girl, her face twisted and blackened by fire. Third degree burns- maybe second degree in some places if she was lucky. Shizune would need to take a closer look to be sure, but regardless, Moegi needed to be out of the dirt and into a sterile room as soon as possible. Sakura continued to pour her chakra into Konohamaru's throat, feeling some of the minor wounds stitch together, but there was so much damage and too much blood for her to be as accurate as she wanted. Several nurses crowded around her, backboard ready for transport.

"Okay, on three we roll him over and slide the board under. Then lift on three again. I'll be on the stretcher and healing until we reach the hospital. Once we're through the doors, anyone with any level of medical chakra needs to be ready to heal the others if required. We've got two major injuries, and three unknowns. If you don't think you can do this, medicine isn't for you."

They were harsh words, but they needed to be said. Tsunade had told her as much the same day she had asked to be trained as a nurse, and eventually a medic. This career path wasn't for everyone; you had to be ready to see patients die in your arms; to watch the dawning look of terror on their eyes as they realized this might be the last thing they ever see. She helped tilt Konohamaru to the side, her hand still placed firmly on the large gaping wound of his throat. Once the backboard was under, she felt him lifted from beneath her before she climbed on top of him, straddling his chest and forcing as much chakra as she could into his neck to try and treat anything lurking under the waves of blood.

Moegi was being loaded onto a stretcher as well, though she was now unconscious. Shizune had most likely given her a chakra sedative for the transport, especially if she was going to be working on healing the worst of her facial damage.

With an attack this close to the gates, Tsunade would be kept from the hospital until the shinobi could confirm there hadn't been any breach to the village. Even though Sakura knew she and Shizune were more than capable of handling the trauma, she also knew Tsunade would be fighting the remaining two members of her guard platoon to be released. The outskirts of Konoha were blurring by her as the nurse team rushed her through the village, calling out for any curious villagers, shinobi and civilians, to return to their homes. The hospital came into view and Sakura locked eyes with the nurse in front of her.

"Find me a room, and then go back to the gates. Himari is doing preliminary assessments, but I want multiple eyes on every situation. You're in charge of the nurses until either Shizune or I say so, or the Hokage is released from the Guard Platoon. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Haruno-san,"

The had brought the stretcher to one of the trauma rooms, which would have everything Sakura needed. She carefully stepped off the stretcher and, keeping pressure on the wound, reached for something to try and clear away the blood. With a better look at where the shuriken had pierced, she frowned. Any ninja with basic training would have better aim than this- at least if they had been intending to kill Konohamaru when they threw it. The wound was deep, tearing across the front of his throat and just nicking against his jugular, which explained the excessive amounts of blood. But now that she was under the bright lights of the hospital room and could see through the bloodied mess, if she didn't know any better she would assume that the shuriken wound had been purely accidental. It angled to the side, off kilter from an instant kill. She was certainly not complaining, but if a shinobi would be so bold as to attack a Konoha nin outside the gates of the village, she would expect nothing but deadly accuracy.

This wasn't going to be an easy fix, or a quick recovery by any means- but something about the injury seemed wrong. As though the person throwing the shuriken had no sense of where they were supposed to be aiming.

She pushed the thought from her head and focused on Konohamaru, gently pushing her chakra into him to make sure he was properly sedated before she began work on the large, almost smiling wound. She reached deep into the cut, finding the worst of the damage and starting there. She didn't know how much time was passing outside the quiet room; throat injuries took time and a steady hand, even the slightest movement in the wrong direction could cause irreparable damage to the larynx, making it impossible for the ninja to speak again. Fusing the wrong muscle in the wrong place could even cause a patient to slowly suffocate to death. But as she healed, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Konohamaru and Moegi were important to her, and she was more than willing to personally tear the skin from whoever had harmed them, but why go for the two of them when a member of the Hokage's guard platoon; and a high ranked kunoichi were also at your mercy? She would have to bring her suspicions to Tsunade, no matter how strange it sounded to complain about an enemy ninja failing to land a fatal blow, there was something just not right.

Dawn was starting to peer over the horizon by the time she was satisfied that Konohamaru would make a full recovery. The bright orange sleeves of Naruto's shirt were rolled up around her arms, both stained with blood that was beginning to crust and flake. What had been a gaping hole in Konohamaru's neck was now a thin, puckered, pink line that would faded within the coming months. She could heal it herself without any issues, but it was sometimes better to leave something for the body to heal itself in order to keep the immune system at it's best form. It was why medic nin were often discourage from healing simple illnesses and common colds. She pressed her palm to Konohamaru's cheek and began gently wiping away the remaining blood stains. She switched his soiled clothes for a hospital gown before disposing of them into the hazmat bin; his hitai-ate was folded and tucked up against his hand. She checked that his vitals were stable and his breathing even before she pushed her way out of the room to flag down a nurse. The morning crew were already starting to mingle around, probably called in early to help keep things moving.

"Room five has just finished major surgery, move him into a single room and check on him every hour. Sedatives for the next twelve hours, every four. Contact Shizune or I when he wakes up,"

The nurses nodded and pulled for a chart before moving into the room. Sakura stuck out like a sore thumb more than usual, with her pink and red stained hair; her bright orange and bloody shirt, and her distinct lack of pants. She didn't want to head home to get clothes, but she had cleared out her locker for her intended week off.

"Haruno-san? These were delivered for you earlier, but we didn't want to disturb your surgery,"

A pile of her clothes was placed on the reception counter, a small note pinned to the top. She frowned and reached for the slip of paper.

 _Pakkun knew where you kept your spare key, we sent one of the female ninken in to get you these. -K_

Her confused frowned turned into a smile. She was considering a shower when she saw Shizune round the corner, hands full of paperwork and charts.

"Shizune! How did everything go?"

The medic made her way over, a tired squint to her eyes, "Moegi is recovering, we debrieded the burns and healed most the damaged tissues. It didn't reach her organs, thankfully. The worst of the damage was to the skin around her eyes, but there shouldn't be anything more than some scarring, though we won't know about any loss to her vision until she wakes up. It seems like she was closest to an explosive tag when it exploded, she caught the brunt of the burns."

Sakura pressed her lips together and nodded slowly, "And the others?"

"Udon and Anko are dealing with smoke inhalation and minor fractures; Udon jumped in front of a tag and the force threw him backwards. No major internal damage, but he was unconscious in the smoke for a while. We will need to keep an eye on his lungs. Anko is mostly unharmed, a concussion and some hearing damage. Genma is being treated for exhaustion, but he is otherwise completely unharmed,"

Sakura wanted to reach out and squeeze Shizune's arm, but she was still covered in blood and felt it wouldn't be as comforting. Despite the bad news, the fact that all their ninja had made it through the worst of their injuries was the best outcome they could have hoped for in the current situation.

"And Tsunade-sama?"

Shizune set the files down on the reception desk and sighed, "Shinobi are still searching the area outside the village to try and determine whether or no this was a failed attack on Konoha or just a targeted attack for the person the squad was bringing back from the village on the border,"

Sakura tilted her head, "There was another victim?"

"A civilian from the village your team passed through originally, apparently he was seen talking with the missing nin before they attacked Hatake-san. He agreed to come to Konoha to share what he knew with Tsunade-sama in exchange for not being charged with failing to report a group of missing nin. He was killed in the attack, someone snapped his neck shortly after the explosive tags were detonated. Genma says he didn't see what happened, only that Anko saw a shuriken come from the trees to the east, explosive tags were detonated, and when he finally caught sight of the man, he was dead."

This wasn't good. The only reason to murder a witness in cold blood was if they knew too much, even if they didn't know it themselves. Which added to the theory that Kakashi- sensei's kidnapping had been a planned attack, and done by someone who was willing enough to stage an attack right outside Konoha.

"Sakura... go clean up. Change your clothes, have some water. We can discuss this when you've had a chance to clear your head."

Shizune offered her a tight smile and headed off in the direction of the filing room. Sakura tried to convince herself to think rationally and not jump to conclusions, but it was becoming more difficult to think of the entire situation as anything other than a mounting attack. She took Shizune's advice, knowing that nobody would be willing to work with her while she looked like this.

The crusted blood ran bright red when the water splashed against it, the shower tiles being sprayed with a pink haze of diluted blood. Sakura looked down at her feet, watching the clear water run black and bloody off her body before disappearing down the drain. She carded her fingers through her hair and removed the worst of the matted clumps before using her nails to scrape all of the smears from her body.

Kakashi's ninken had picked one of her regular hospital outfits; jounin pants and a simple navy blue shirt, and had even brought a new pair of shoes. She felt like a new woman when she left the staff showers, scanning the reception to see if she could find Shizune again. Instead, her eyes landed on a wide-eyed nurse who was fiddling with the corner of a patient file.

"Ah, Haruno-san?"

Sakura held her hand out for the file and flicked it open, "Konohamaru's file? What seems to be the issue?"

"You asked us last night to contact his next of kin, but," the nurse pointed at the forms to where a familiar signature was scrawled at the bottom.

"Ah. Is there nobody else?"

It made sense, really. Konohamaru's parents had both died a long time ago; the Sandaime and his wife were both gone. Asuma was also gone, and though Kurenai was his wife, she didn't need the added pressure right now.

"I will handle it," she assured the nurse, who looked relieved.

Naruto was in Suna for the next week, but it was unfair of her to keep the information from him. She would have to send a messenger. She didn't blame the nurses for not wanting to be the bearers of this particular message. Even though Konohamaru was more than likely to make a full recovery, the bond between Konohamaru and Naruto was easily observed and it was sometimes better if a close friend was the one to break the news.

"You look like you need this,"

Sakura turned to find a large cup of coffee offered out to her, and a pair of white eyes looking into hers.

"Neji! You know me well,"

She took the offered cup and drank eagerly, ignoring the heat of the coffee. He had even remembered how she liked it, dark and sweet. He was wearing his jounin uniform, patches of soot and dirt smeared on it. He had obviously come from the gates, which meant he might be able to answer some of her questions. He sensed her eagerness and the corner of his lip quirked.

"Deciding between the coffee and the questions?"

The coffee was winning. She had realized how drained she was, and she scolded herself for not taking better notice of her body post-operation. It was too easy for medic nins to fall into a bad habit of chakra exhaustion because they didn't properly take the time for recovery after big events. She came up for air and smiled.

"I owe you so much for this, the staff room coffee pot only seems to make tar, no matter what we do. How is everything, are you here for an injury?"

If he had stopped to get coffee on his way for a medical checkup, she wasn't going to be impressed.

"I was sent to inform you that the Hokage will be released from her Platoon within the hour; we've found no evidence that the attacker even attempted to get inside the gates. They were going to send Lee, but I thought you might have had enough excitement for the day,"

Sakura tilted her head in the direction of where she had seen Shizune disappear, "Would you like to walk with me? I need to find Shizune to discuss a few more things, but I'd like to know whatever you can tell me about the situation outside,"

She was happy when Neji didn't take much time consider before following alongside her. Things between them had been friendly, albeit tinged with a hint of awkwardness ever since they had decided that things wouldn't work out between them. It had only been a few month fling, brought out in them by a mutual loneliness and a desire for someone who could understand, but also not ask questions. If Sakura was honest with herself, it had also been mostly physical. Eventually they both realized that it could never work, and would only serve to complicate things if it continued. It had been strange to become so close to someone in such a short amount of time, and then abruptly let them go. But she was glad it hadn't caused any notable damage to their quiet friendship.

"By the time the shinobi reached the gates, whoever attacked was already gone. The posted guards didn't see where the enemy ninja came from, though they were approving entry at the time. It's possible the attacker waited until the guards were distracted before making their move. No chakra signatures, no discarded weapons. We found the remains of nine explosive tags, though the guards deny seeing anyone all day who could have pre-placed them, so they had to have been thrown, probably to create all the smoke and obscure our vision. Not a lot to go on, but if Tsunade approves, the village will be raising the threat level to three,"

Sakura scrunched her nose in frustration. Level three meant no one who wasn't a registered villager of Konoha was allowed to enter, which included providers of medical supplies. Anything the hospital would need would have to be sourced personally. Their stock levels were high enough for now on non perishable medical supplies; but who knew how long Konoha would stay at a higher threat level?

"Why raise the threat level if it wasn't a direct attempt on the village?"

"Because we have no way of being sure there isn't something else in the village the enemy nin is looking for. And if they are willing to hire shinobi to attack Hatake, they could also be willing to hire people to infiltrate the village and find a way to get to him again,"

Sakura rounded a corner and tossed her empty coffee cup into a trashcan with a little more force than necessary, "So the assumption is that this was definitely related to Kakashi-sensei?"

"Can you think of any other reason our own ninja would be attacked, right outside our own gate, to only kill a civilian who might have information about the people who attacked him? If this was an attack on Konoha, wouldn't it have made sense to murder an entire team and two of our jounin?"

Neji made a good point, and it meshed perfectly with her thoughts about Konohamaru's injury. The records room came into view, just at the same moment Shizune stepped out and blinked in surprise.

"Oh, I didn't hear you coming. Is everything alright, Hyuga-san?"

Neji relayed the same information about Tsunade as he had told Sakura, but paused at the end.

"I'm sorry to hear about Genma-san, I hope he recovers well."

Sakura knew Neji and Genma had been on a number of missions together, and that Genma had expressed to Neji that he would make an excellent addition to the Homage Guard Platoon when the time came for new recruits. Neji offered Shizune and Sakura a polite bow of his head.

"If you'll excuse me, I need to return to the gates for the final sweep. I've heard that the Hokage is insistent that she be allowed to come to the hospital once she is released, so I would expect her any moment now,"

Shizune waited until he was disappearing around the corner before she reached for Sakura's arm, brushing her fingers against it.

"Sakura... have you removed any files from the patient records lately and not returned them after discharge?"

Sakura frowned, "No, I always make sure to return them to the nurse's station if I ever can't make it myself. Why, are some files missing?"

She had a feeling she already knew the answer, but she could only hope she was wrong. Patient files sometimes slipped through the cracks, especially when there was an emergency like there had been just now. It could be anyone, there was no reason to assume the worst.

"Just one. Hatake Kakashi's."

* * *

Kakashi squatted low on the tree branch, the foliage shading his eyes and keeping him hidden from the milling shinobi below. They wouldn't care he was here, but there was also the chance they would tell the Hokage. He wasn't breaking his orders by being here; this wasn't _technically_ training or a mission, he was simply observing the scene. They were yet to move the body of the villager, but had the decency to cover it with a light sheet. Large craters where explosive tags had been detonated were pock marked on the area, and there was a darkened patch of dirt where Kakashi assumed Konohamaru had been healed.

He didn't know anything about Konohamaru or Moegi, just that when he had left clothes for Sakura he had eavesdropped on the nurses enough to know it wasn't good. They would survive. He had no doubt in the abilities of Sakura and Shizune. Genma would be off the mission roster once he was treated; two missions ending in battle within a week of each other was a one week forced break from active duty.

"Pakkun... do you notice anything?"

The pug turned his eyes on the scene and sniffed the air, "Person is long gone, boss. Couldn't smell 'em out even if I had the whole pack,"

He was listening to the shinobi below him. Raised threat level, as to be expected. It was obvious they thought this was related to what had happened with him.

"Should you be up there?"

Kakashi looked down into the byakugan of Neji Hyuga and flashed him a peace sign before holding up the distinctive cover of Icha Icha.

"Just reading my book. Not involved in any ninja activity."

Neji clearly didn't believe him, but instead called up, "Konohamaru is stable; so is Moegi. You can leave now."

Kakashi scoffed; he wasn't hanging around here trying to find out about the injured chunin. He would eavesdrop at the hospital if that was his intent. No, he wanted to see with his own eyes what was happening.

"Hatake..." Kakashi looked down at Neji, who sighed, "The Hokage will be stopping by the hospital, then I'm sure she will want to come here. Be gone before she gets here, she's going to be annoyed enough,"

Kakashi wiggled his book, eyes wide and innocent. Neji leapt into the tree in one movement, crouching beside Kakashi and lowering his voice.

"Based on Anko's report, the attacker was in that tree over there," he pointed to one of the large, thick trunked trees, "and we've swept the surrounding fifty miles and returned no chakra signatures. There were no other traps set, and they had every opportunity to grab the body before they left, and they didn't. This was a cut and dry murder, also probably paid for. The civilian is being returned to his village for burial. This is the last sweep we are doing before turning in our reports; and the border guards will be rotating in twenty minutes. So whatever it is you're going to do, don't be out here exposing yourself without at least a little backup,"

Neji flung himself over the gate with ease, dropping down to the hard packed dirt below. Kakashi's eyes went to the tree and he pursed his lips in contemplation. It wasn't the largest in the area, and wouldn't provide good aerial view of the area outside the gates. The foliage was sparse, but if he was calculating the angle right, the one crook of a branch just above the level of the gate would be the perfect blind spot for someone to hide. If they didn't move, the shadow of the branches around it would cast perfectly into the base of the branch, almost rendering the person invisible.

Genma and his team had returned early, and hadn't sent word forward that they would be bringing anyone back to the village. The only people who had known the villager was with them were the people in the village they came from, and the shinobi in the group. It seemed like the more that happened, the more questions that couldn't be answered were being brought to the surface.

* * *

Tsunade had been taken from her bed by the Guard Platoon. She personally thought the rules regarding village invasion were garbage; in the event of an attack, the Hokage should be among their village, not hidden away in some secret location. She knew why it had been adopted; most attacks on the village were an attempt on the Hokage's life, so relocation allowed shinobi to neutralize the threat while being sure that their leader was in safe hands. But as far as Tsunade was concerned, it was leaving her villagers open to attack while she turned their back on them and slunk away into the shadows. It felt, in her gut, a lot like cowardice. As soon as she had been finally told what had happened she was already planning on rewriting that particular rule. She wouldn't hide away when the village was under threat, be it from someone trying to take her life or no. She knew her apprentices would be able to handle themselves, they had proven it more than once. But to not know what was happening outside the walls of her confinement felt like bugs crawling underneath her skin.

When Raidou finally told her she was free to go, she was outside before they could even escort her; drinking in the early morning sun and the chill of the season. The hospital was her first destination; and then she wanted to sweep the scene herself before reading the reports of her shinobi. There was no chaotic bustle when she entered, which was a good sign. The nurses bowed respectfully and pointed her silently in the direction of the patient file room, where she found her medic team looking less than enthused.

"Report."

The results were as she had expected. No Konoha nin casualties, though severe damage that would remove Team Ebisu from active rotation for upwards of a month; two of her jounin on required mental health suspension. She had already been asked to approve the rise of the threat level, but she wouldn't be sure that was the best course of action until she had read every report that had crossed her desk, and seen everything with her own two eyes.

She could see Shizune and Sakura holding something back, a silent conversation being held with their eyes that she wasn't privy to. She looked beyond them and into the room, seeing a mess of files in various piles; all taken down from their shelves and scattered across the room. She cleared her throat and pointed to the organized chaos.

"And all of that?"

"Kakashi-sensei's medical records aren't here," Sakura said, gesturing to the multitude of folders they had spread out on the table, "I sent a runner to the civilian clinic and they don't have them; we've swept the nurses stations on every floor and had them look in every patient room in case it was misplaced, but... they're gone."

Someone had been in her hospital. Some had slipped passed her medics and into her patient file room; putting at risk who knows how many people. What they wanted with Hatake's medical records, she had no idea. There wasn't any information specific to the Sharingan logged in the basic files, those were kept separately in her office under lock and key with a blood seal, as was any medical information from the major kekkei- genkai holders. All they would get from the file was any time one of the medic nin had checked the eye for degeneration or other known issues.

"Put these files back, and tell the nurses the file was located. Do not under any circumstances inform anyone else of the missing file, the information doesn't leave this room."

If anyone found out the hospital had been breached, it would only cause unnecessary panic. The hospital was a public building, with more than four hundred bodies in it at any given time; and the missing file contained minimal information that could be considered sensitive.

"What about Hatake-san, Tsunade-sama? Should we tell him his file has been taken?"

Ethically, yes, Kakashi should be told that his personal information was adrift. She toyed with the idea of keeping it from him, but knew that he was more than likely snooping around the gates already, wallowing in his feelings about being connection to a situation that caused so much damage.

"I will inform him when I am given the opportunity. Do we have a window where they would have been taken?"

"I filed Hatake-san's updated medical reports yesterday afternoon, as you requested. While I was returning patient folders this morning, I noticed some were out of place, and that his file wasn't where I had left it. That gives us a window of approximately thirteen hours,"

Part of the reason Tsunade loved Shizune like a daughter was because of how thorough she was. The filing room, unfortunately, didn't always look immaculate. But Shizune would of course notice when something was unnaturally out of order amid the rest.

"Shizune, please head to the tower and begin taking verbal reports of anyone who came to the gates during, and after the attack. We'll need physicals eventually, but weed out anything you thing is notable and make a list. I want to speak to whoever was first on the scene, and whoever was in the guard tower when it happened. Anyone who arrived in the aftermath can wait for now. Sakura, stay here and keep up rotation; look out for anything or anyone suspicious. If anyone comes in with questions, don't lie to them. We don't need any paranoia right now."

The two nodded before turning back to replace the multitude of files and Tsunade sighed softly. Right now, she had to see the scene of the incident and try and decide whose ass she needed to kick.

* * *

A/N- Shout out to me for not realizing that I forgot to copy my AO3 chapter notes into these uploads. Whoops. Thanks so much for the support on this story, I'm always appreciative of every reader and review.


	8. Chapter 8

"Good afternoon, Anko-san. It's good to see you're awake, how are you feeling?"

Sakura moved to the window to pull the curtains closed, noticing how Anko squinted her eyes and groaned when she looked around. Coming out of sedation wasn't pleasant for anyone, especially ninja. The feeling of your body coming back online was often disorienting enough, but to feel your chakra trying to balance again could cause a rush of nausea. Sakura set a small white bucket beside Anko's bedside and held out a glass of water, the warmth of the afternoon having covered it in condensation that slipped over her hands as she offered it.

"The team-"

"Is fine," Sakura assured her, shaking the glass of water a little, "Drink first. Slow sips, or you'll make yourself ill."

Anko caught the straw between her teeth and began to drink, her eyes still vague and bleary.

"I don't know if you remember coming to in the hospital, you gave one of the nurses a report about what you saw while they gave you a check up. You were treated for smoke inhalation and some minor cuts and bruises. They did decide to sedate you when you began getting a little irate that they couldn't give you a report on anyone else at the time,"

"I feel like a bag of shit,"

Sakura pressed her fingers to Anko's pulse and shined a small torch into her eyes with the other, "That's normal, but I do need you to tell me if you experience any pain or shortness of breath. Your pupil response looks good, and your heartbeat is back to normal. Udon and Genma are doing fine; Genma might even be released by the morning. Udon we will be keeping around a little longer, he got a nasty hit from the shockwave of the tag and took in a lot of smoke,"

Anko bit down on the hard plastic straw and narrowed her eyes, "Damn idiot, what was he thinking? I had time to dodge the damn tag, he could have gotten himself killed."

Sakura attached the blood pressure cuff, "Well, he didn't. You'll be able to ask him in person what he was thinking when he wakes up, though no yelling. I don't want any fighting in this hospital."

Satisfied with Anko's blood pressure, she unfastened the cuff and snatched away the water as Anko began to drink more greedily.

"Hey!"

"You'll make yourself ill. Measured sips only. Now, I'm afraid because of confidentiality I can't give you a full report of Konohamaru and Moegi, but I can tell you that they will eventually make a full recovery. When you're a little more coherent, I have paperwork from the Hokage for you to sign. As per village regulations, you and Genma are both off the mission roster for a week until she can do a personal assessment of your physical and mental health,"

Anko slumped into the pillows and glared daggers, but Sakura knew she wouldn't try and fight the decision. Sakura watched Anko egin to fidget uncomfortably, her skin flushing a pale pink before tingeing to an odd white.

"I told you small sips," Sakura scolded as she poked the bucket towards Anko, just in time for her to begin retching into it. Anko groaned and rested her head on the rim of the container when she was finished, her breath coming in short, wet rattles.

"When can I leave?"

Ah, the ancient shinobi proverb. She heard it every day.

Sakura flicked through Anko's file and pursed her lips, "Well, since all of your vitals are up... tomorrow around midday as long as everything stays stable and you don't vomit for six hours beforehand."

She watched Anko use a damp cloth to wipe at her lips before letting herself gently fall back into the pillows. Anko had been the only one to see the attack coming, and her somewhat coherent report to the nurses hadn't said why. Tsunade would require Anko to make an official report, but the nurses had thought it was better to write down anything Anko said before they sedated her, just in case.

"Anko-san?"

"Uh?"

She was already beginning to doze again, which was to be expected. The more rest a patient could get within the first day, the less time they would need to spend here. But Sakura needed to know if Anko had seen something- anything- that had made her look to the east and catch the attack coming.

"Why were you looking away from the gates when the shuriken was thrown?"

Anko opened one eye, frowned, and opened her mouth. She closed it before speaking, an uncomfortable shift in her shoulder.

"Must've imaged it," she murmured, "It's stupid. Didn't want to tell the nurses,"

"Tell them what?" Sakura prompted.

"I thought I heard someone say my name,"

"...what?"

Anko was asleep, and the medic in Sakura wouldn't let her wake her. Patient recovery was high priority, but the information sent her mind racing. She knew why Anko wouldn't have thought to mention it; the obvious being that she was in shock and babbling her mind out. The report the nurses had taken included a two minute rant about the unnecessary amount of 'god damn cockroaches' she had found in her apartment shortly before leaving. It also wasn't uncommon for shinobi to develop an inner sense for danger; a prickling at the back of their neck, a tingle in the lower abdomen. Maybe Anko had imagined her name being called in association with her sense for the danger around them.

Surely nobody about to attack a ninja squad would make themselves known on purpose, and what better way to get the attention of someone than by outright calling their name? Sakura gently clicked the door shut behind her and rubbed one hand over her face. She would need to speak to Tsunade when she had finished going through all of the reports. This was another piece of the puzzle that just didn't make sense, and it was making Sakura feel like someone was using the village as pawns in a twisted game.

* * *

Tsunade had been here for almost an hour and hadn't noticed him yet. He had masked his chakra, but with her critical eye and how long she had been combing the grounds outside the village gates, she really should have caught him. He reclined back slightly on the branch and looked up; he had a perfect view of the guard post for the gates, and if he crouched low, he could see all of the outstretched area ahead of him. And yet, nobody could see him. The way the tree had grown left a perfect blind spot for someone to linger, unnoticed, for as long as they liked in the shadow. Though he had to remain still during the day, with the sunlight filtering in between the leaves, he was sure that with the cover of midnight, there was no doubt it would be a perfect hiding spot.

He was going to have to reveal himself, and it was going to have to be very obvious so as not to spook the Hokage. He didn't want her ripping his throat out in a state of panic if he just jumped down behind her. All he had to do then was hope she thought his findings were good enough to warrant not being slapped with a punishment for being outside the gates. His tail had been called during the gate attack, leaving him with a brusque "I'm being summoned. Don't move." before leaping off in the direction of explosions from the entryway to Konoha. Kakashi had been ready to leap into action when he arrived to the chaos, but had instead seen Sakura, covered in blood and calmly giving orders. He had wanted to follow Moegi and Konohamaru to the hospital, but he knew they would only be moved immediately to surgery. He had instead made his way to Genma, finding his friend semi conscious and being stood over by a young medic with wide brown eyes. She had told him he couldn't be there, but fell silent when Genma reached up in a daze and gripped Kakashi's hand like a vice, eyes darting from side to side.

"Shizune?"

"I'm flattered- but no,"

Genma had fallen again into unconsciousness and Kakashi had looked to the medic. She offered him a tight smile and offered him only that Genma would be okay. And that was all Kakashi needed to know. He had slipped back through the gates and called for Pakkun before heading in the direction of Sakura's apartment. He didn't know if it was overstepping, but there was no way she could continue to wear the bloody clothes she had on her back.

He was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of wood splintering, looking down to find Tsunade shaking debris from her fist. A ruined tree trunk was in front of her—obliterated. Kakashi seized his moment of her distraction to drop to the ground, landing heavily and unmasking his chakra. He heard the long, drawn out sigh as Tsunade turned to him.

"I'm in no mood, Hatake,"

He pointed up to his previous hiding spot, "You may want to see this, Hokage-sama,"

Tsunade inspected the tree for several minutes, leaping from branch to branch and looking for vantage points. He had shown her the perfect nook, and he thought for a moment she may rip it directly from the tree while they were still in it. He settled himself into it as she jumped up and into the guard tower, he could see her staring directly towards where she knew he was hidden, but seeing nothing. The cogs were turning in her head, just as they had in his. Maybe the attacker had gotten lucky in locating a spot where they would have been able to linger unnoticed; but it was more likely that the area had been scouted, which meant that someone had been outside the Konohagakure gates undetected.

"Anything else you want to share with me?"

Tsunade looked tired, even with her youthful visage still in place. He could see the dark shadows under her eyes and the barely noticeable slump in her shoulders.

"Nothing I'm sure your shinobi wouldn't already have put in their reports, Hokage-sama."

He had nothing but respect for most of his fellow ninja; he was sure with their combined man power that they knew all they could about the area, no matter how little it would be when compared to the bigger picture they were clearly missing. Tsunade pinched the bridge of her nose with two fingers and sighed, long and heavy.

"Since you're already ignoring orders; find me a genin squad to run a mission. I want this tree taken down,"

"The whole tree?"

"Yes."

He thought about asking why she felt the need to demolish the whole tree and why, with her monstrous strength, she didn't just do it herself. He thought better of it, however, when he caught her eye and saw something he didn't like looking back. Hesitance; concern...and something almost apologetic.

"Hokage-sama?"

"Kakashi... I'm afraid at some point last night, your medical file was stolen from the hospital. While they didn't obtain anything related to the Sharingan, someone outside Konoha now has full access to your physical and mental history. This has confirmed for us, more than it already was, that you are a direct target of a missing nin. I'm sorry, but I am going to have to suspend you from all outer village activity for the foreseeable future. I will also be raising the village security to threat level three."

His medical files? A sick feeling crept into his gut at the thought, though he knew there was little in them that could be used against him. It had still been possible, up until this moment, to assume that he was just unlucky. Missing nin had been paid to obtain him by someone who had interest in the Sharingan; but with the failure of the missing the main player would give up, but now... Now there was possible evidence that they had been staking out the village. Konoha had a dead body on their hands of a man who knew information about whoever had been hired. His medical files were missing, stolen straight out of the hospital without anyone noticing.

Tsunade gestured for him to follow her through the gates, and he did so without complaint. As the heavy gates creaked shut behind him, Kakashi found himself wondering when he would next be able to see the outside of them.

* * *

Over two dozen reports from the shinobi on the scene, and all she knew for sure was that she had one dead body and a lot of loose ends.

Tsunade highlighted one section of a report and held it up against four others. Most of the people first on the scene said they hadn't seen able to see anything for the smoke, at least until Neji Hyuga had arrived. The explosive tags had been placed far enough apart that their detonation range overlapped and the smoke had blacked out the area around the front of the gates for a mile in either direction. Deliberately planned to create a smoke screen. The two shuriken recovered from the scene were base standard and pre-sale. Before shuriken were sold, even to a basic genin, they were painted and often marked to show what they were cast from. The two recovered had no markings, typical of missing nin who knew what they were doing, and probably stolen. Thanks to Hatake's report, she knew it was more than likely the attacker had staked out the gates at some point prior to the attack, and had been almost invisible to the guards. The murder of the villager, Miyaki Sora, had been quick and clean. His neck had been broken, and he showed no other signs of any damage. Another trait of a trained killer.

The only thing she could glean with any certainty from all of her information was that the person who had done this was smart and well trained; but had left people alive and made seemingly amateur mistakes. She reached for another bottle of sake, and Shizune didn't make any attempt to protest. None of this was boding well, not just for Kakashi, but for the village.

Hopefully Jiraiya would get her message sooner rather than later; she could use another set of eyes she could trust. The man had ears to the ground in almost every village, and had eyes everywhere; if there was anyone on her side who would have the right connections, it would be him. Her messages regarding the first attack on Kakashi she had sent the Kage of the neighbouring shinobi villages that bordered Fire had gone unanswered, something else that pulled concern low into her gut. She would have to put all her trust into Naruto that his presence at the Kage summit in Suna would make a good impression for Konoha. She trusted him wholeheartedly, though she knew his status as a jinchuriki left a sour taste in the mouth of a lot of people who would attend.

Sakura had sent one of her slugs to deliver the news to Naruto, boldly starting the message with "Everything is going to be okay", which Tsunade knew would do little to dissuade Naruto's concern for Konohamaru. But for now, he would need to remain in Suna; a lack of Konoha's presence at the Kage summit would only rustle up more rumors than she was ready to deal with.

Tsunade shuffled more of the reports on her desk and rested her forehead on her open palm. She wouldn't let whoever was behind this take anything from her village, she had sworn an oath to protect it. Even if she was forced to die trying.

* * *

Tsunade had taught her a long time ago that if you let your missions and patients follow you home, you would lose yourself. She hadn't understood at the time, only sixteen and her hands still wet with the blood of her first failed healing. She had wanted to cry, to remember his name every day of her life and apologize to every person who had ever loved him. It had taken her a year to understand what Tsunade meant, the day her mentor took her down to the morgue and ordered her to heal a dead body. Sakura had been confused, asked Tsunade why she would think Sakura could heal someone already dead- there was nobody that could do that. She had realized the trap Tsunade had set as soon as the words left her mouth. Sakura had been clinging to the dead as though somehow, some way, she could heal them back to life. Tsunade had smiled, and shared the same words of advice that she had given to Shizune, and the words that had been given to her by her own teacher.

"You can't heal the dead, you can only mourn and remember. But to do that, you need to keep living."

Since then, Sakura had learned to embrace her own moments. Even now, with the rising tensions and the multitude of unanswered questions, she let herself breathe. She felt, in her own humble opinion, that it made her a better medic, and a kunoichi. It was easy to cling to the past and let it drag you down, but to erase it completely and walk away was leaving behind important parts of how you had become who you were. She wondered, as she gently plucked a few stray weeds from the base of her lilac bush, what hr younger self would think of her now.

She hadn't left the hospital until midnight, instead she had been checking on the team injured in the attack and tending to daily patients. She had been planning on bunking down in the medic quarters until Tsunade showed up and told her to leave and to do it without complaining. Sakura rarely saw her mentor so blatantly unwilling to argue, but she had known better than to try and fight. She had wanted to ask what Tsunade had learned, but didn't get the opportunity before the Hokage was headed down the hall and into the filing room, the door closing with a pointed bang behind her. She had received a messenger early this morning that she was to continue her time away from the hospital, and even though she wanted nothing more than to be able to check in on her friends, she knew Tsunade had kept her away for a reason. She was too close to this, and she knew it.

"Yo,"

Sakura smiled to herself and reached into the bush for more weeds that were tangling their way into the flowers, "Good morning, Kakashi-sensei,"

He got to his knees beside her, questioningly reaching out for a patch of weeds. Sakura nodded encouragingly and pointed to her patch of wild daisies, "There's some in there as well, if you'd like. I asked Ino to keep up on the gardening while we were away, but she's hopeless,"

The weeded in silence for a long time, until the sun was beating down on the back of Sakura's neck and she could feel the sweat running down underneath where her hair was pulled up into a scruffy ponytail. She assumed Kakashi had come to see her for something, but for now she was more than happy with the silent company. He had amassed a large pile of weeds, having moved on from the daisies and into her tulips before finding himself deep in the azaleas.

"Sakura?"

"Mmm?" She really wanted something cold and sweet, maybe she could convince Kakashi-sensei to take her out for some iced tea.

Kakashi's head popped up from behind an azalea bush, leaves and sticks stuck into his hair, "What exactly do you plan to do when you run out of room?"

It wasn't the question she had expected, but she had already thought about it. Part of the reason she had chosen this apartment block was because it had such a large community area for gardening, though nobody used it. Most of the apartments around her were empty, most civilians had migrated to the North District when it had been redeveloped, wanting to get away from the bustle and chaos of living around ninja. But the garden, regardless of how large, was now getting crammed with various flowers and plants that Sakura kept putting in. She had considered asking Tsunade for permission to spill the garden over and into the sprawling green space that the apartment backed on to, but she hadn't gotten around to it. Sakura fanned herself with the brim of her large yellow hat and smiled.

"I'm sure I'll think of something. I appreciate the help, Kakashi-sensei; how do you feel about lunch?"

She had enjoyed the time they had sent together over the last few days. It was strange to not have Naruto or Sai tagging along everywhere, but Kakashi had his own charms when it came down to it. Like flashing his face to avoid paying for chocolate pastries when he had offered to make it his treat.

Kakashi was making his way out of the bushes, brushing off his pants and plucking stray twigs from his hair, "Well, Sakura, that would depend on who is buying. I would personally love to treat you to lunch, however, since I'm off the mission roster for the time being..."

Sakura raised her eyebrow, "I was under the impression you could slip down your mask and get whatever you want?"

"Sakura, you saw those men, they were going to take the last two pastries and I couldn't in good conscience let that happen,"

She laughed, and it felt good. There had been so much weight on her shoulders in just the last day, between the gardening and Kakashi-sensei, she was feeling much more like herself. Kakashi was squinting off into a hedge and she paused, following his gaze in time to see Wiggles poke his head from between the hedge and meow plaintively.

"Ack! That's where you got to!"

She darted forward, but caught only air when Wiggles squeezed his way back through the hedge and disappeared, only the sound of shuffling foliage and crackling twigs giving her any idea of his location. Kakashi was watching her in sheer amusement and she sighed.

"Kakashi-sensei, I did what was necessary for the good of everyone involved."

"I have no doubts, Sakura. Now, you mentioned something about you buying lunch?"

Sakura narrowed her eyes at the hedges, vowing to get into them and find Wiggles before someone noticed he was here and he had to be returned. She just needed him to lose a few pounds and then she could give him to a nice family in the North District. She would go to lunch with Kakashi, and then try and convince him to help her catch this damn cat again.

She was sure he could be convinced.

* * *

"No."

"But Kakashi-sensei!"

Kakashi was thankful Sakura had a more refined palette than Naruto. Usually team lunches involved watching Naruto eat an inhuman amount of ramen. Sakura had brought him to a small cafe nearby to her apartment. The mint green and white paint was peeling on the door and the outside of the building, but the flower boxes overflowed with greenery and brightly coloured blossoms. Sakura weaved her way through the cafe until she reached a specific table by the window, a perfect view across Konoha and up into the Hokage mountain.

"Kakashi-sensei, all I'm asking is that you distract Wiggles while I grab him from behind,"

Kakashi looked down at the menu and ignored her suggestion. He knew if he looked up she would be giving him the wide eyed stare that had probably been what roped Naruto into the cat shenanigans. An older woman with curly, steel grey hair caught up in an ornate clasp approached the table with a tall glass of iced tea in her hands.

"Sakura-chan, we haven't seen you in a while! I never did get to thank you for healing my husband's forehead, he's always been so clumsy. I brought you your usual, no charge,"

Sakura blushed and waved her hand, "No, Kayoko-chan, I couldn't-"

Kayoko set the glass of tea on the table and smiled, "I'm glad you like it, dear."

Kakashi smiled underneath his mask and offered a polite wave to the woman when she turned towards him.

"Can I get you anything, Hatake-san?"

He didn't ask how she knew him, he was often considered as distinctive as Sakura in the village. He eyed Sakura's drink with interest, it wasn't anything he had tried before.

"Another glass of whatever Sakura has, please,"

"One more sencho tea, I'll be right back,"

Sakura was making the eyes at him. Wide eyed, brimming with optimism and innocence. He looked back down at his menu. He had a feeling that he was going to end up helping her catch the beast of an animal, but he would let her keep trying to convince him for a while. Especially if it meant she would pay for lunch.

"What do you recommend, Sakura?"

"Oh, I always get the gyudon or the yakitori; though Naruto likes to get one of every flavour of onigiri,"

Kakashi chuckled, "he doesn't order the ramen?"

Sakura already had her menu closed in front of her and was sipping at her drink, chin propped into the palm of her hand, "I've told him when we go out together and it isn't Ichiraku that he needs to vary his diet, he swears that the ramen has enough vegetables but it _isn't,_ and who only knows what he's eating now that he's living with the other boys,"

Kakashi also preferred not to think too much about the 'bachelor apartment'. He decided on the gyudon, as did Sakura, and sipped from his glass as he watched Sakura stare out at the Hokage mountain. He had come by her apartment for no particular reason, Tsunade had instructed him yesterday to try and continue about his usual routine as much as possible but he found little that kept his attention. Even his Icha Icha books didn't draw him in the same way they did, there was too much else cluttering in his mind. Helping Sakura clean up her garden had been an unexpected but welcome distraction, even if he was pretty sure he had several bugs crawling deep within his hair. He waited until Sakura took a sip from her glass to ask the question lingering on the tip of his tongue, hoping to catch her off guard.

"Which flower is for me?"

Sakura, to her credit, was barely rattle by the question. Instead, she offered him a mischievous smile.

"What makes you think you have one, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Well, Sakura, I'm heartbroken you wouldn't consider me,"

It hadn't been hard to figure out, though it had taken a little while. Every time Sakura lost a patient, she found her way into the Yamanaka flower shop and was then busy in her garden. At first he had thought that had been all; though slowly but surely he had watched the garden blossom along with the friendships Sakura made. Some flowers were more obvious than others, the clump of orange flower blossoms that almost screamed for how bright they were; a muted purple flower with a beautiful yet simple petal pattern. Kakashi hadn't mentioned the winding tomato vine growing in a pot at the back of the garden. He knew Sakura would have her own reasons for each choice, be it simple or personal. But his curiosity had piqued when he had helped her this morning, wondering which one she had felt would be an addition to her garden to represent him.

Sakura's eyes lit up when the older woman placed their meals in front of them. Considering that particular thread of the conversation finished, Kakashi let the meal continue in a comfortable silence. The food was good, far better than most of the places he often ended up with Genma or Yamato. He would need to remember to bring them here some time.

"Kakashi-sensei?"

He looked up to find Sakura watching him intently. Her mouth was set in a firm line and she reached out, covering his hand with her own.

"This is all going to be okay,"

He certainly hadn't expected that, but he let her squeeze his hand and go back to her food. It was interesting to see the difference between her and Tsunade, though they shared so many (sometimes terrifying) similarities. Tsunade had told him something similar, though it had been said in the tone Kakashi knew all too well. The tone of someone just trying to placate your feelings as best they can before everything went wrong. But Sakura, with her determined eyes and soft but firm grip on his hand, meant every word she said.

When their bowls were empty, Sakura reached for her wallet, but he was setting the ryo down before she even made it. Her eyes widened and she clutched her chest in faux terror.

"Did Kakashi Hatake just pay for a bill without using his charm?"

"Don't get used to it. I'm not helping you catch that cat either. I'll send Pakkun over though, you two can work something out,"

The afternoon sun on their faces was no less forgiving than it had been an hour ago, but Kakashi waited for Sakura to step outside before he gestured towards her apartment, "I have somewhere to be in a little while, but I can walk you home if you'd like,"

Was it strange to offer that? A few weeks ago he might have said yes, but now he saw Sakura so differently. As a friend; an equal. How he had been letting himself still view his teammates as students for so long was strange, but he was going to put a stop to it. Sakura seemed pleased by the offer and slipped her arm through his, tipping her face back to enjoy the sunshine.

"Ino and I love doing this at the end of summer; when it's just starting to get crisp in the air and the sun starts to set that little bit earlier than usual,"

Had he not seen her walk like this with Naruto, he would be concerned she had _definitely_ gotten the wrong impression from their lunch. But the weight of her arm against his was grounding, what Sakura always referred to as a medic's touch when Naruto mentioned it. He didn't really have anywhere specific to be, Genma had been released from the hospital this morning and the thin walls of the apartment block had allowed Kakashi far too much of a peek into the reunion between him and Shizune. He had snuck out the window so they wouldn't hear him on the staircase. Genma deserved a good day after everything he had been through. Kakashi would stop by the cenotaph before he went home, but for now he felt he had definitely taken up enough of Sakura's time.

"Thank you for your help today, Kakashi-sensei, and for lunch. I can't wait to tell Naruto you actually paid for something,"

She had a twinkle in her eye as she waved goodbye and he turned back from where they had come; he could cut through the centre of town and probably make it to the cenotaph in fifteen minutes. That would only make him two hours late for his meeting with the apartment owner about his dogs supposedly terrorizing her pet chihuahua. As though that thing wasn't a terror all on its own.

"Kakashi-sensei! It's that one."

Kakashi looked back to find Sakura pointing across her garden to a stalk-like plant with flowers blooming from the upper half and hanging like bells. It was a nice flower, though names and meanings were lost on him. Unlike Naruto, Sai and Sasuke's chosen plants, he couldn't make an immediate connection. He could hear Sakura laughing as she went into her house, calling out a final goodbye before the door closed behind her.

He peered through the windows, but didn't catch any sight of her. He jumped quietly over the fence to the garden and plucked a single flower from the plant and tucked it into his pocket. Maybe he would stop by the flower shop on his way home.


	9. Chapter 9

His visit to the cenotaph had been cut short by a string of academy students filtering into the area. It was customary to bring them here before they became genin, to try and give them a sense of the gravity of war and serving your village until the end. He didn't mind, the sun was starting to fall in the sky as it became closer to late afternoon than mid. He had already been to the Konoha cemetery and given Rin her usual respects; he knew if they were here they would have found nothing but sheer enjoyment in his current predicament. Obito especially, seeing Kakashi stuck within the confines of the village and not able to leave. They would both be worried, of course, about the attacks, but they would still have laughed at his inability to go about his day. The shinobi who was supposed to be trailing him was gone, apparently deciding that Kakashi would be allowed a modicum of privacy in this regard, possibly on the orders of Tsunade. He would let his distant companion find him again soon, but first, he had on more stop on his journey before he headed home.

The gate of the abandoned Uchiha compound was rusted and stiff beneath his hand, screaming its protest of being opened out into the emptiness, sending flocks of birds cawing into the sky. The village Elders had been content to let this part of the village rot; nature was taking back the land with sprawling weeds and lengths of grass that stretched toward the sky. Wild flowers crept along the ground and weaved their way into the rotting wooden beams of long abandoned homes. Had he not been one of the shinobi tasked with 'handling' the bodies the day after the massacre, he could almost let himself believe that the inhabitants of the compound had just left and let nature take its course. He made his way through what had once been the main path, crushing the grass under his feet and sending startled wildlife running for safer pastures. He reached the back of the compound, where the memorial cenotaph for the Uchiha clan had been erected- out of sight. Beside it was a large slab of rock, dragged into place by Naruto from Training Ground Three. The Elders had intended for the grave to be unmarked, but Naruto had stood his ground. The stone didn't bear his name, but Kakashi knew that on the memorial stone beside it, Sasuke's name had been carefully carved into the back, hidden from the nosy view of the Elders.

"Good afternoon, Sasuke,"

Officially, there were only eight people in the village who should be aware that Sasuke was buried here. Three village Elders, Tsunade, and the other members of the former team seven, and Sai. Sasuke's return had cased a ripple of unease through the civilians and shinobi in the village, many believing Sasuke should not be thrown out of the village, but killed for his crimes against Konoha.

In the end, neither of those had come to pass.

Unofficially, Kakashi knew that far more than that were aware he had been laid to rest here. All of the Rookie Nine knew. He had seen a flash of two sets of white eyes leaving the compound; caught the scent of a long extinguished cigarette on the breeze. Clumps of Akamaru's fur was mingled in with the grass on occasion, and the occasional bouquet of flowers tied with the dark purple ribbon of the Yamanaka flower shop. Though most of them had come to know the worse side of Sasuke at one point or another, he still left an imprint on them.

Kakashi crouched down on his knees and began sweeping away dirt and plucking more weeds. It had obviously been a while since anyone had found the time to come this far out to the village, especially with the sheer number of missions Konoha was piling up. Kakashi sat back against the rock and closed his eyes, letting the sun ghost over his face as it shone down through the trees. He could hear birds chirping in the distance, much to his amusement.

"Ah, Sasuke... you should see them now. Naruto is representing Konoha at the Kage Summit; Sakura is ," he paused, "-she's really something. You'd have far too much fun if you were here now, seeing me like this. Though I think if you were here, we'd have a bigger problem on our hands."

Kakashi plucked a strand of grass between his fingers and began to twist it absently, "I know the Sharingan is coveted because it's so rare, but I wonder if they know how much trouble it causes..."

He was often asked how it felt, to be the last living host of the Sharingan and to not be an Uchiha. He found a way to avoid it every time; he knew nobody wanted the real answers. How it felt to remember every face of every person you killed; to know your chakra pushed into a kekkei-genkai that didn't belong to him and he felt his body try and reject it every day, only to be smothered by the overwhelming power of it. To have something that wasn't his, and should never have been, be the only thing he had left to remember a dead teammate.

Kakashi didn't let his mind linger down that road, it wouldn't do him any good. He stretched his legs out in front of him and tipped his head back, looking up at the clear and cloudless spring afternoon sky. He remembered the day Sasuke had returned to Konoha; on the first day of spring, for all the irony of it.

"You always did have a flair for the dramatic," he muttered to the empty air, "Showing up the way you did. You're lucky Tsunade didn't kill you on the spot."

But no, things that day had gone very differently.

* * *

 **KONOHAGAKURE- THE FIRST DAY OF SPRING- LAST YEAR**

* * *

"Kakashi-sensei? Could you help me with this?"

Kakashi peered over the top of his book to find Sakura with her hands on her hips, a very confused looking Naruto standing behind her.

"No! I can do it, Sakura-chan!"

"Naruto, you've been trying for a while now, just let Kakashi-sensei do it so we can go to the festival,"

Sakura shuffled her way over and turned her back to him, displaying the giant knot Naruto had somehow managed to wrangle her obi into. He sighed and tugged the knots free before securing it in several easy loops. Naruto narrowed his eyes and huffed, though Kakashi wouldn't blame him for not being able to make a perfect knot in a woman's obi, especially with the varying different types. He also wasn't about to admit to his students that he mostly knew how to do these up because he was often _undoing_ them.

Sakura was plucking at her yukata and fussing with her hair when Sai emerged from the nearby room, wearing another varying shade of blue like his other male companions. Sakura, on the other hand, was wearing a pale pink, several shades lighter than her hair; with a winding pattern of mint green and white petals scattering the fabric. Her obi was the same mint green, and she had several flower tucked into the elaborate braid in her hair.

"You look particularly ravishing today, Sakura,"

Kakashi raised his eyebrow at Sai, who was smiling over at Sakura. Sakura sighed and patted his cheek, "Nice work, Sai. But maybe without the smile that looks like it hurts you to say it,"

Kakashi went back to his book when he heard Naruto burst out with his own set of compliments for Sakura, assuring her that she looked beautiful and Sai was just an idiot. He wondered how long he was going to have to stay at the festival; he was only attending this festival on the orders of Tsunade.

"Nonuniform shinobi presence is always appreciated at these festivals, I like having eyes everywhere, even when people think they're being sneaky,"

That had been her polite way of saying that most of the shinobi not already assigned missions were going to attend, whether they liked it or not.

"Are we finally ready to go, I told Ino and Shikimaru we would be there a half hour ago,"

Sakura pushed her feet into her zori and was already leaving, letting the rest of them scramble out behind her. Even from Sakura's apartment, Kakashi could smell the festival food and hear the sounds of excitement echoing through the village. It wasn't hard to locate Ino in her bright purple yukata. She had a frosted glass of something in her hand and was draped around Shikimaru, who had a cigarette in his mouth and looked like he would rather me anywhere else. Hinata and Kiba were trying to scoop goldfish into poi at a booth not far away, the angered yells of Kiba suggesting it wasn't going very well.

Genma was propped up against the side of one of the booths, senbon clenched between his teeth as he gestured for Kakashi to head over. Kakashi cast a glance at Naruto, who had already wandered away to the goldfish catching; Sakura and Ino exchanging compliments; and Sai, who was trying to charm his way through the female population with his newfound flirtation techniques; and ducked away from the group.

"Yo."

"You hear anything about the disturbance at the gate this morning?"

Straight to the point, apparently. Kakashi leaned casually against the wall, "No, what happened?"

Disturbance at the gates could be anything from an overly excited bird running face first into the doors; or a strange ninja trying to vault their way over. Genma plucked the senbon from between his teeth and twirled it around.

"Don't know, that's the weird part. Gate Guards sent a raven to the Hokage just after sunrise, then suddenly she's sending most of the jounin in the building out on early leave. Shizune doesn't know anything, and the Gate Guards won't talk, so it's got to be something interesting."

That definitely piqued his interest The Gate Guards were often the most gossipy of the shinobi in he village, always report one thing or anything and then squirreling off to share the news. You couldn't cough outside the gate without everyone knowing. If they were keeping their mouths shut, it meant Tsunade had told them any breach of privacy would have a maximum punishment.

"Kage visit?"

"Unannounced? No way, and she would have shinobi crawling the tower, not out here looking for people stealing dango off a street stand,"

Their presence here was for far more than that. This many villagers in one spot was often the perfect cover for secret handovers of illicit materiel, or targeted attacks. Being out of uniform still let the villagers enjoy the celebration of Spring, but let them do it without the somewhat startling presence of multiple shinobi in one area. But Kakashi knew Genma had a point, nothing had happened at these festivals in years, and the shinobi mostly spent their time breaking up brawls and returning stolen merchandise.

Genma slipped his senbon back into his mouth and bumped his shoulder against Kakashi's, "I'm going to ask around; someone here has to have a big mouth and be willing to share some information. The sooner I'm doing a mission I'm actually being paid for today, the better,"

Genma disappeared into the crowd and Kakashi scanned for his students. Naruto was still trying to catch goldfish with Hinata, Kiba sulking beside the disintegrated poi he had been using. Sai was nowhere to be found, as usual. Sakura... he tilted his head and saw her at the mouth of an alley, her fingers tangled into someone's hand. She pulled back and he saw the familiar long brown hair of Hyuuga Neji and he raised an eyebrow.

That was definitely not something he had seen coming.

"Kakashi!"

Oh no.

Kakashi stiffened at the sound of Gai's voice, remember the last challenge they had agreed upon at the last summer festival that had left Kakashi with a sunburn on his ass for two weeks.

"Gai, today isn't the best day..."

He trailed off when he caught sight of Gai, heart falling to his knees. There was no twinkle in his eye, no wide grin plastered across his face. His eyes were hard and his lips formed a thin, serious line.

"You need to come with me."

"Why?"

"Now."

Kakashi followed Gai with no further complaints. The man didn't make demands, which made Kakashi wary of whatever he was about to encounter. He had expected the Hokage tower, but instead he found himself being brought the slope of the village, where the prisoners were kept and interrogated. Officially the area was a secret, kept hidden in the leaves much like the village it resided in. The door required a blood and chakra key, which Gai provided. The thought of someone as good as Gai lurking beneath the surface of Konoha like this made his stomach turn. None of this was good.

Gai led him down a narrow hallway before stopping dead and turning around you grip Kakashi's shoulders.

"Kakashi... I consider you not just a rival, but a dear friend. I'm sorry for any pain this is going to cause you, and I want you to know I will be here for you,"

Gain pushed open a door and Tsunade came into view, looking tired and wan. She was sitting at a rickety wooden desk laden with scrolls. Tsunade had her elbows on the table, her fingertips pressed together in front of her. He didn't like the look on her face; the hardened and impassive stare he was receiving. She was missing her usual flank of door guards, and Shizune wasn't by her side as she so often was. There was something serious on the horizon, he could feel it crackling in the air.

"What you're about to see does not leave this room. If I discover that you have leaked any of the things you have seen here today, you will be found in violation of the secrecy code of Konoha, and you will be exiled from the village. Do I make myself clear?"

"...Yes, Hokage-sama."

Tsunade stood up and flicked her finger for Kakashi and Gai to follow her. Kakashi made eye contact with Gai, and the man offered him a weak smile. That was somehow even worse than Tsunade's demeanor. They were heading into the deep prison cells of Konoha, where Ibiki did most of his off the book interrogation. The empty white rooms were often for show, used on easy to crack subjects who would cave like a house of cards. But these cells were where questionable things happened, things not strictly sanctioned by anyone.

Tsunade paused outside one of the heavy steel doors and locked her eyes with his.

"I need you to assure me, Hatake, that you are, first and foremost, a shinobi that is loyal to this village,"

That was definitely not good. He straightened his posture, feeling out of place in his yukata, and offered Tsunade a curt nod.

"Of course, Hokage-sama,"

Tsunade used a chakra blade to slice open the top of her hand, smearing her blood onto the handle. It glowed blue in the dim light and the door creaked open, revealing the chakra shackled shinobi sitting upright in the chair. A smirk was plastered on his face, dark eyes raking up and down Kakashi's body. Kakashi was frozen in place, the air sucked from his lungs as he drank in the scene before him.

"Nothing to say, Kakashi?"

"...Sasuke?"

The door swung shut behind him and Tsunade was striding forward, sinking into the chair across from Sasuke. Gai had his hand firmly on Kakashi's back, though he hadn't even notice his friend come any closer.

"So, Uchiha, you requested the presence of your former sensei, and I obliged as a personal gift to you. Now, you will tell me why exactly you think you can stroll back into this village like nothing ever happened,"

"I killed my brother. I'm the last living Uchiha, and I had hoped to return to the village I was born in, and possibly repopulate my clan."

Itachi Uchiha was dead? The Akatsuki had been unofficially disbanded after the deaths of most of their members, though it was thought that Itachi and at least two others were still alive. Yet here Sasuke sat, his life's dream complete. Kakashi felt a weight settle in his gut and he flinched at the thought of what would happen to Sasuke now. He had defected from Konoha, had knowingly attacked Konoha nin, and there had been suggestions that he had sold inside information about the village in exchange for whereabouts of Akatsuki members on more than one occasion.

Uchiha or not, the likelihood that he would be allowed to return to the village without any punishment was unlikely. The worst case scenario of his return would be execution for treason. This explained why the disturbance at the gates had been kept so quiet; if word got out that Sasuke Uchiha was in the village, there would be no telling the backlash it would cause.

"And how do you plan to do that? I heard you were quite popular in your genin days, but I don't quite regret to inform you that I doubt you're likely to find many women falling over themselves for you,"

Sasuke shrugged one shoulder, seemingly unfazed, "Repopulation would be preferable, but it isn't necessary. I understand Konoha won't accept my return with open arms, but I am willing to provide any information you want in return for lenience. This village was home to my parents... I would like to live here until my death, just as they did,"

"Where are your other teammates? Last we heard from you, you certainly weren't alone. Should we expect them at our gates asking for clemency as well?"

"No. I made it clear that after I killed Itachi I wouldn't have use for them anymore, and they won't bother Konoha. I need you to understand, Hoage-sama... I'm willing to do whatever is required to gain back the confidence of the village."

Tsunade didn't look convinced. She rose from her chair and stared down at Sasuke, no warmth or forgiveness in her eyes.

"Until I am able to discuss your arrival with the village Elders, you will be confined to one of the cells under Konoha and under constant observation. It is in your best interest to cooperate with anything that is asked of you, Uchiha. The village has lived without anyone from your clan for years now, if we have to kill you- we won't hesitate."

Sasuke blinked up at her, and then turned his eyes on Kakashi. His life as a missing nin had taken a clear toll on him; his eyes sunken and surrounded by dark circles, skin stretched over his sunken and hollow cheeks. He was a shadow of the child he had known so many years before.

"Hokage-sama, may I?"

Tsunade shot him a levelled glare, but made no attempt at stopping him from approaching Sasuke. Gai made an aborted gesture to stop him, but thought better of it. Kakashi knew he was only here because he was one of the only shinobi with experience in combating the Sharingan genjutsu if Sasuke was to try anything. Kakashi slid into the vacated chair and locked eyes with Sasuke, who remained impassive.

"Why are you here, Sasuke?"

He kept his voice soft, adding no lilt of accusation or anger. Something shone through Sasuke's dark eyes for the briefest moment, a flicker of emotion before he locked it away again. For all his pride and anger, Sasuke was very much just a child who had seen too much.

"...Maybe I was ready to come home, Kakashi."

Tsunade was quick to sweep Kakashi from the room after that, letting Ibiki disappear after them. If Sasuke was cooperative, the interrogation would be painless. If not... Kakashi didn't particularly want to consider what they would be willing to do to him. Tsunade turned on him, and he steeled him spine for a lecture him about how missing nin were to be treated; how it didn't matter who they were before they defected, but instead he felt the cold press of ryo being pushed into his palm.

"Go back to the festival. Buy yourself a sake. Someone will report to you in the morning."

He wanted to fight. How could she expect him to go about his day when he knew Sasuke had returned and was, by his own admission, willing to remain there? He took the money and nodded, however, knowing if he fought she would prevent him from knowing anything. The fact she had let him down here at all was more than she could have done. Kakashi could see that Gai wanted to follow him out, but he knew he was needed.

Cherry blossoms were blooming when Kakashi emerged into the spring sunlight, the light breeze whisking them from the tree to gather at his feet.

"Kakashi-sensei! I've been looking for you!"

Sakura's eyes were bright and filled with joy. Flowers had been weaved into her long pink locks and she was carrying a fistful of daisies, a goldfish, and a small white box in her hands. She caught up to him and offered out the box filled with mochi.

"Where have you been? Naruto knocked Hinata in the goldfish pool and had to take her home; then Genma was chasing someone who tried to steal an entire rack of dango from one of the stalls; _then_ Shikimaru found out he's been assigned a genin team for when they graduate from the Academy. Can you believe it? It seems like yesterday we were all just genin ourselves."

She was absently tucking flowers into his hair, and he made no move to fight her. He had been worried about how Naruto would react to Sasuke's return, he hadn't quite considered Sakura. He knew she had loved him, at least as much as a young woman could love at that age. After an awful lot of sake, she had admitted that she didn't know if she had truly loved him, or loved the idea of loving him; but regardless, he knew Sasuke would hold a special piece of her heart. He thought of her hand tangled with Neji Hyuuga's, and the warm smile on her face that was brighter than he had seen in a long time.

"Sakura... how about we go back and enjoy the festival?"

She poked a sakura blossom behind his ear and tilted her head at him, smile still curling at her lips.

"Last one to the kakigori stand can pay, ne?"

She was already running, the breeze in her hair and her laughter echoing back at him.

* * *

Kakashi awoke with a start. It was dark now, the bright light of the moon shining down onto the ghost town of a compound, bathing it in an eerie white glow. He got to his feet, surprised that not only had he fallen asleep, but for so long.

The memories of the day Sasuke had returned to Konoha were fresh in his mind as he gathered his things and looked down the stone wedged into the grass. If only things had been different, somehow. Many people thought Sasuke's fate had been decided for him the night of the massacre, that his brother's betrayal had left a black imprint on his soul that he would never be able to remove. Kakashi didn't believe that; he knew there had been so many other things that had shaped him into the man he had been when he stepped foot back into the village, both good and bad.

"I'm sorry the world wasn't better to you, Sasuke. Maybe next time it will be,"

It was all he could offer now.

It wasn't until he was back in his own apartment, the sounds of night in Konoha filtering in through his window, that he remembered the flower he had plucked from Sakura's garden. The Yamanaka flower shop had been empty when he arrived, Inoichi busy weaving various flowers together into a bouquet by the counter. Kakashi had kept the flower between his fingers, searching the store for anything that looked similar. Inoichi had definitely used his hobby in his favour, the flower shop had been booming since the beginning of the Spring, and it would likely continue well into the summer.

"It's a gladiolus,"

Kakashi turned to find Inoichi still finishing the bouquet, not looking over at him. Kakashi twirled the flower in his hand.

"What does it mean?"

Ichoichi was smiling, and he finally met eyes with Kakashi as he wound a deep purple ribbon around the vase, "They're sometimes called the sword lily, they usually represent an infatuation or a passionate emotion,"

Kakashi's eyes widened- maybe Sakura was definitely going to misinterpret their shared lunch. Inochi's shoulders were shaking with silent laughter as he slid a kunai along the ribbon, forcing it into a tight curl, "Though nowadays they more often represent a strength of character. Integrity, unshakable faith... a wholehearted trust in a good person. That is much more likely what Sakura meant, Kakashi,"

Kakashi had made a mental note to get back at Inoichi for toying with him, but had tucked the flower into his vest and offered his fellow shinobi a friendly nod before leaving.

It touched his heart that Sakura believed so highly of him, though there would always be a large part of him that was sure it was undeserved. Now, he gently pulled the flower from inside his vest and carefully pressed it between the pages of an old book. The box he dragged from under his bed was small, but expertly carved. A gift from his father, and a home for the few trinkets he couldn't bring himself to be rid of. He nestled the book into the box, resting it between various memories. His eyes fell on a kunai that had been tossed in the carelessly. He had considered getting rid of it, but part of him had preferred it be there- a constant reminder. The weapon was heavy handled, the blade curved for better ability to thrust it into an enemy's gut.

He hadn't used it again. It had felt wrong to carry it around in the presence of Sasuke's former teammates.

After all.

It was the one he had killed him with.


	10. Chapter 10

"Maa, Gaara how do you live like this?"

Naruto was pretty sure his face was melting off. Even with his wind jutsu blowing softly down onto his face, it seemed to only be pushing even hotter air towards him. Gaara was, however, unfazed as he poured over several scrolls Temari had brought in for him to sign.

"Don't you live in Fire Country?" she remarked with a wry smile, waving a single fan in his direction that pushed a blessed wave of cold air over his sticky skin. Naruto smiled from his sprawled position on the couch—upside down and dangling off the edge.

"We have so many cold springs, Temari-san! You can jump right in and cool off in no time!"

Temari smiled as she continued to sharpen her kunai, Naruto could see the weapon gleaming in the bright mid afternoon sun hanging over Suna. She pressed her thumb against it with barely a whisker of pressure and Naruto saw the bright line of blood that followed in its wake. Gaara frowned and held one scroll out to his sister.

"Why did I decide not to approve this trade deal? It might be good for us"

Temari glanced at the scroll, "You said they were getting more benefit than we were, and when you tried to negotiate they said no-GYAH WHAT IS THAT!"

Naruto was on his feet and ready to attack as soon as Temari cried out. Gaara had sand hovering behind him, poised and ready. A large slug had dropped from nowhere and was oozing its way along the floor towards Naruto.

"Kimiko-chan?"

"Naruto-kun, I have a message from Sakura-sama and Tsunade-sama,"

Temari was staring wide eyed at the slug, "You, ah, you know... her?"

Naruto nodded and walked over to Kimiko and sat beside her on the floor, where she happily moved up onto his lap. Gaara had gone back to his scrolls, calm now that there was clearly no danger. He had met Kimiko on his last visit to Konoha when she had just become one of Tsunade-sama's summons under Katsuyu, eventually to become Sakura's summons when she was properly trained.

"Sakura-sama sends you a message, Naruto-kun. She said before I tell you the full message, I need to tell you that everything is going to be okay."

Naruto frowned and placed his hand on Kimiko's back, stopping her from wriggling any further, "Why wouldn't things be okay?"

As Sakura's summons relayed her message, he felt his face heat with anger. Someone had attacked Konohamaru and his team, Genma, and Anko right outside the gates? He tried to push Kimiko off, off to find her growing larger in his lap. Temari was watching in a mix or terror and amusement as Kimiko grew to the size of a large dog and plopped heavily on Naruto's chest. Her eyes wiggled wildly and she cried out.

"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun! Sakura-sama told me I'm not allowed to let you go back, you need to be here for the Kage summit and she told me to tell you that everyone is going to be okay she promises, and that Tsunade-sama is already working on finding out what is happening!"

Naruto grunted under the weight of the slug on his chest and stopped his fruitless attempts at escaping. He knew he needed to stay here; he hadn't told Tsunade yet about the accusations being made about her, and with this new revelation, he though it was best to continue keeping it from her. The thought of Konohamaru on death's door made his gut twist and bile gather at the back of his throat. He refused to lose another person who had become like family to him. Gaara had stopped rifling through his paperwork the moment Kimiko had mentioned the attack on Konoha, a deep frown creasing on his brow.

"Naruto, I know Konohamaru is important to you, but I do think it is in the best interest of Konoha that you stay."

When Kimiko was suitably assured Naruto wouldn't be going anywhere, she slid off him and back onto the floor, heading in Temari's direction most likely to introduce herself. Naruto didn't get up from the ground for a long while, instead focusing his gaze on the intricate ceiling above him. He trusted Sakura to keep everyone safe, but the heavy weight that had settled itself onto his shoulders when he discovered the hidden accusations circling his Hokage now seemed to have doubled. Kakashi-sensei had been attacked; and now the village in something that seemed obviously connected? None of it felt right. He was drawn out of his thoughts by a bird swooping in through the window to perch on Gaara's desk, offering its leg out patiently.

"The Tsuchikage has arrived in the Suna surroundings and would like a suitable greeting at the gates," Gaara said as he scanned the scrap of paper, "and then a personal discussion with me as soon as possible to 'discuss aspects of our previous correspondence'."

Temari snorted and slipped her fans and kunai into the red sash around her waist, "A suitable greeting? Yeah, sure thing,"

Naruto watched her launch herself out the window before he looked to Gaara with wide eyes, "He wants to talk to you about Baa-chan? Is he going to tell you whose stupid idea it is that she's trying to start a war and that she killed Sasuke because whoever told him that is a liar-"

"Naruto."

Naruto closed his mouth and looked away from Gaara's intense stare. He couldn't bring himself to consider what might happen if the other Kages decided Tsunade wasn't to be trusted. But that was why he needed to stay in Suna and tell them all the good she had done and all the people she had helped. He clutched the necklace that hung into his shirt, the shattered remains of the necklace she had given him now slipped into a wooden box. He was included among the people she had changed for the better, and he would make sure they knew that.

Naruto set his jaw and turned to Kimiko, "Kimiko-chan, go back to Baa-chan and Sakura and tell them I'm staying, but I want to know as soon as anything changes or if there are anymore attacks on the village. Don't tell them what you heard me say about the Tsuchikage okay? We'll keep it a secret for now, just until I know more and I can tell them, okay?"

Kimiko was young and easily swayed, thankfully. Had they sent Katsuyu, he would have no chance in keeping the information from Tsunade. When she saw gone, Naruto rubbed his hand over his face and let out a shaky breath. He would wait until Gaara met with the Tsuchikage and found out as much as he could, and then he would start planning.

* * *

The best part about civilian villages is that they were all so trustworthy. In mixed shinobi and civilian villages there was always an undercurrent of distrust to newcomers, nobody ever fully sure they were there for business or pleasure. This far into Earth Country, however, the civilians were always happy to see him. They knew he tried to avoid dabbling in ninja activity where he could, preferring instead to relax and try and write his newest book.

Or at least that was what they believed, and he was happy to allow it to continue if it meant they would welcome him with open arms.

Jiraiya tipped the woman behind the bar, Natsuki, a wink and she giggled as she smacked his arm and set his tall glass of beer in front of him.

"That won't work on me, don't you even try it!"

He waggled his eyebrows and let his tongue dart out to catch the foamy head of the beer before taking a long drink, his eyes never leaving hers. This bar was situated squarely on the main road through the village, and Jiraiya had observed the immense ebb and flow of various patrons to know this would be the best place to get any information. His letter from Tsunade was folded and pressed into the folds of his shirt, creased from how often he had turned it over in his hands. She was asking him to return to the village, which suggested things were much more serious than her short letter would initially convey. Kakashi had been attacked, and someone was likely after possession of the Sharingan. Not an uncommon problem in Konoha's history, but definitely something that piqued his interest. Tsunade could sense something on the horizon, and if she was going to request his return, he would make sure to be there.

The bar was bustling, mostly with the civilian population, though he could see several hitai-ate among the mix. Unsurprisingly, mostly from Earth Shinobi, though he caught a glimpse of Mist and Grass as well. If he was going to find any information to bring back to Tsunade, this would be the place.

"Maa, can't you let an old man try?"

The bartender blushed again, pink creeping up her forehead and into the blonde spikes of her hair. She wiped a cloth over the shiny countertop and leaned forward onto her elbows, giving Jiraiya a perfect glance down the neck of her shirt. He would have to remember that move and incorporate it into Icha Icha... it was excellently distracting. He drank deeply from his beer again and let the foam coat his upper lip. As expected, Natsuki reached out and caught it with her thumb before letting her lips wrap around the very tip, sucking it away.

"If I didn't know any better," Jiraiya began, "I'd think maybe now _you_ were flirting with _me_ ,"

The cloth smacked into his face and Natsuki laughed, "Perhaps in your dreams, Jii-chan,"

Natsuki had become a confidant to him in his many travels over the last ten years; though she was a citizen of Earth Country, she had been born in Konoha, though had never wanted to follow the path of becoming a kunoichi. She had been barely a teenager when the Kyuubi had attacked, and her parents had fled into the neighbouring Country. He knew she had always wanted to return to Fire, if not directly back to Konoha, but now cared for her ill father. In exchange for any information she overheard pass through the bar, Jiraiya had Tsunade send her as much as she could to help keep her father comfortable. If she didn't have anything to exchange for the goods, she would try to refuse, insisting that she needed to pay her share. But really, she had helped save his ass more than once, and her information was almost always much more helpful than she was aware.

He watched her carefully as she scanned the room, clearly searching for someone specific. She rested on her elbows again, gently pushing a folded piece of paper into the sleeve of his haori. She pitched her voice low as she leaned in. To an outside observer, it would look like she was falling for his charms and returning flirtation. Though Jiraiya knew she had no desire for it- she would have made an excellent kunoichi.

"Almost a month ago, some people were saying the Copy Ninja was losing his eyesight in the Sharingan, that soon Konoha wouldn't have any of that kekkei-genkai left. Since then I've been hearing things... bad things about Konoha and your Hokage. They say she's going to send us all into war again; that she's making deals with bad people to try and erase the other shinobi villages. You know how it is though, the shinobi drink their weight in sake and run their mouths," she played absently with his bangs and pursed her lips, "I heard nothing but good stories about the Legendary Sannin from my father, she doesn't strike me as the type to be that way. There has been tension since she granted the last Uchiha clemency in the village, even after he died. He did a lot of damage to a lot of people, Jiraiya-kun. If you're looking for more information though, look over in the corner. The three Iwa nin, they come here every weekend. I only told you what I overhear, I'm sure there is more..."

She leaned back and made her way to the end of the bar to continue serving, leaving Jiraiya struck with anger and confusion. Tsunade had been right to feel there was a problem looming beyond her eyesight; these weren't light accusations. It hadn't been a secret that when Sasuke Uchiha had returned to Konoha and the village had made it public that he was under their protection and would serve out his punishments for his crimes as decided by Konoha- people had been angry. Villages wanted him to be tried and punished under their own systems of judgement, many of which would have seen him killed. But that decision hadn't come solely from Tsunade, but from the Daimyo himself. Another part of the gossip that lingered was the idea that Kakashi was losing his eyesight. It wasn't a secret that the Sharingan came with a number of issues in exchange for its powers, but Kakashi's eyesight was, as far as Jiraiya knew, not anywhere near the level of degradation that the rumors were suggesting.

Jiraiya drained his beer and casually tilted his head in the direction of the back corner, where several Iwa shinobi were shrouded in the darkness. He wouldn't be able to go over there, he was too easily recognized, and even if they held to grudge against a Konoha tied shinobi, they were unlikely to share any information. Instead, he slid his hand under the bar and summoned Gamatori, one of his newer toad summons. Barely filling the palm of his hand, the toad blinked sleepily and croaked, clearly unhappy with being summoned.

"Gamatori, I need you to go over there and listen to whatever it is they're saying."

Gamatori huffed and slid to the floor, hopping between the bustle of feet and keeping to the shadows as he made his way over. When he was sure his summons was in position, he raised one finger at Natsuki and she came over, placing another beer in front of him before he could ask.

"Natsuki-chan... would you be a dear and go over there? Take them some drinks, tell them someone bought them as a gesture for keeping the villages safe. Mention the attack by the Grass and Konoha border, say people are worried about breach of treaty," he pushed the money across the bar as he reached for her hand, stroking his thumb across the back of it, "I just need to see if they start talking about Konoha... if something is about to happen, Natsuki-chan, if there's some kind of fight they're trying to start.."

She smiled at him and took the money from under his palm and began pouring several cups of sake. She knew Tsunade, not just Konoha, would always hold a special place nestled in his heart. Even though she was dedicated to Dan and his memory, she would always be his teammate. As Natsuki swept around the bar, tray of sake balanced perfectly on her open palm, she pressed an innocent kiss to the side of his temple.

"Anything you need, Jii-chan,"

* * *

"Get off the balls of your feet, Kakashi-san," Shizune chided as she slid the ruler down to the top of his head, squishing his hair out in several directions. He watched her scribble something on the chart and gesture towards the scale. She had already taken his vitals and reflexes, and hopefully once this was done she would clear him for training and he would at least be able to spend some of his downtime on the training grounds with Gai and Yamato. Sitting around moping with Genma and Anko was getting to his mental health. She made a note of his weight- he'd gained two pounds, he was unhappy to notice. He should really stop eating those chocolate pastries Sakura had shown him.

"I'm going to have to do a chakra assessment; though since we don't currently have access to your previous file, I will have to use generic shinobi averages to decide whether or not you're fit to return to physical activity. We know having to have your Sharingan always active drains your chakra, so Tsunade-sama and I accounted for that. If you'd sit down, I'll be as quick as possible,"

He had hoped he would get Sakura to do his assessment today; she never made him wear the awkward paper gown and at least let him keep his mask on. He felt naked, stripped down to his underwear and the thin gown that left little to cover him. At least it wasn't Tsunade, she showed no mercy. Shizune gently placed two fingers on either side of his temples and smiled.

"Breathe normally, you're going to feel my chakra in your system but try not to fight it. Have you noticed any issues with your vision? Blurry vision, eye pain, unnatural muscle twitches?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary, Shuzine-san, just the usual,"

He felt her chakra brush against his and forced himself to relax. Healing chakra felt cold, almost tingling as it worked its way through the body, and was accompanied by an irritating itch not unlike an almost healed scab. He felt it flicker through his body, pushing against old wounds and deep scars that still lingered on his skin. He felt it swirl into the back of his eye, the Sharingan trying to force it away but Shizune pressed onwards, saying nothing. He let out a rush of air when she finally pulled back and reached for the chart.

"Your chakra levels are slightly lower than we would like in a shinobi your age, but Tsunade and I accounted for that in our calculation given that your Sharingan is constantly active. I'm happy with your vitals, and it seems as though the scar we left under your eye has healed just as well as we would have hoped for this long post-operation,"

She scribbled her signature at the bottom of the chart and smiled at him again, "You're free to go, Kakashi-san. You are temporarily approved for training, though my professional opinion would be to avoid overuse of the Sharingan for at least another week. I'd like you to schedule your next checkup for four days from now, I think Sakura-chan will be able to see you at the same time,"

The approval was music to his ears, more so even than knowing he could put his clothes back on. The happiness was short lived, however, when Shizune took a step closer and gently rested her hand on his bicep.

"Tsunade-sama also requested a meeting with you when we were done here, I sent a messenger to her a few minutes ago so she is going to be expecting you,"

It had been five days since he had even laid eyes on Tsunade, the day he had shown her the hideaway in the tree. The only reason he knew she was alive and not drowning at the bottom of a sake bottle was because Genma had told him that Shizune had seen her. The trip to the Hokage tower was quick, roofs under his feet and the breeze on his face. He considered trying to fling himself through the window to keep her on her toes, but with the current tension in the air, decided he didn't want to be round house kicked into the Hokage mountain. He knocked his regular 'shave and a hair cut' greeting on the door and heard a deep, long suffering sigh from inside.

"Haven't we discussed that, Hatake?"

"We have, Hokage-sama, but I still maintain it adds some light in your life, doesn't it?"

She didn't look particularly lively. Her pigtails were uneven and her haori had ink stained along the cuff of the sleeve; piles of papers spread out on the table and the floor. Tonton was dozing in the sun, legs in the air and head lolled back. He settled himself into the chair and she handed him a scroll.

 _Darling wife,_

 _My grandson is indeed an issue, it seems. Maybe it is best he is kept under your watchful eye so he doesn't do himself any harm. I'm so sorry to hear about the bugs, I'm inclined to agree that it seems as though there might be a need for pest control,_ _though we know I'm far better at it than you. Keep an eye on your pink roses, there has been a lot of demand for them and it would be a shame to see them picked. Wait for me._ _Missing you desperately._

 _Your loving husband_

"Jiraiya is coming back?"

Tsunade nodded, "And it seems like he managed to find some information about whoever assigned those shinobi to attack you. I contacted him before the attack on Konoha, but I'll be sure to give him as much information as we have once he arrives. He's always been much better at gathering information than me."

 _Because he flirts it out of people rather than punching it_ Kakashi thought, but knew better than to speak aloud. Jiraiya coming back didn't bode well, particularly if Tsunade had asked him to put his ear to the ground and report back. He frowned down at the scroll, his brain clicking something into place as he looked over it again.

"Pink roses? Sakura?"

Tsunade pursed her lips and slumped back in the chair, pressing two fingers into the bridge of her nose, "He obviously didn't want to put anything in the letter that would be too worrying, but it does seem as though there may be reason to believe Sakura is somehow part of this. I would like the two of you to stick close to one another, I believe in both of your abilities but it would be harder for someone to take down two of you than just the one."

"But what would they want with Sakura?"

Tsunade looked tired. More than he had seen her in a long time. She reached under the mountain of papers and pulled one towards her, a rusty red streak of blood smeared across the top. A scroll that could only be unbound with the blood of one person. Kakashi caught sight of the Uchiha symbol inked into the top of the paper.

"This is one of the first reports that was ever written regarding your Sharingan; the first time you returned to Konoha with it after the mission. Rin Nohara was, for her age, quite an accomplished medic. She would have done well in this field. But, as would be expected, your Sharingan transplant had flaws."

Tsunade turned the paper to him and flicked several of the pages, "Most obviously, you aren't able to have control over the Sharingan. We assumed that it was because you aren't an Uchiha, but there was a lot of research done by the clan before their deaths, and if a Sharingan was to be implanted in a specific way, it is likely it would work just the same. Other issues you've experienced include headaches, lingering chakra combating yours, pain, blurry vision..."

Kakashi watched as she continued to show him the research, several dozen pages of diagrams, information, and theories spilling out in front of him. This research would never have been allowed to be done with approval of the Uchiha.

"Where-"

"Sasuke Uchiha surrendered all of the hidden Uchiha scrolls to Konoha as a bargain for his release. The Uchiha had been keeping an eye on you, Kakashi. I'm sure you know how protective they were of their bloodline the kekkei-genkai, it seems as though they were concerned that a transplant was seemingly so easy. Their eventual findings..." she brought up the last page, "showed that you were incredibly lucky. Your chakra control is excellent, and you possessed enough similar genetic traits to the Uchiha clan for the eye to continue to work. Rin had an above average level of medic skills, and her transplant was a success. It would be incredibly unlikely for someone to be able to transplant the eye and survive should they not have a qualified medic,"

There it was. What Jiraiya was worried about Sakura for. She was more than qualified, and Tsunade had told him that most everyone knew it. With a medic as strong as Sakura, even if the recipient didn't have the same genetic traits as Kakashi did, Sakura would more than likely be able to figure something out and provide them with a Sharingan that worked just as it had with the Uchiha.

"Sakura would never betray the village,"

Tsunade narrowed her eyes at him and bristled, "I would never think to suggest it, Hatake. But the facts are there... if someone wants your Sharingan, they're going to need a medic who knows what they're doing. When Konoha was attacked, Konohamaru's injuries were suspicious. Almost life threatening, but not quite. Sakura brought her concerns to me, and I know several other people shared them. We were attacked by a professional, and yet we were left with only one body."

"You think Konohamaru wasn't killed because the attacker wanted to see who could revive him from near death..."

But that raised more questions. How could the attacker even know if Konohamaru lived after Sakura brought him inside the gates of the village? Tsunade read his mind.

"Internal spies. I've had concerns about it for far longer than this, but it is one of the only things I am left to consider." she reached for a half empty bottle of sake and drank deeply from the mouth of the bottle, "Someone is selling Konoha secrets to outsiders, and until I figure out who it is, I have no idea who I'm able to trust. Keep your eyes open, Hatake. Watch Sakura's back and let her watch yours. I refuse to allow either of you to end up as collateral damage in this fight."

Kakashi left the tower with his renewed energy drained again. As dozens of people milled by him, he found his eyes wandering from face to face, watching them all blur together and disappear into their daily lives. One of them could be a traitor to the village, and nobody around them even knew it.

* * *

Sakura's head hit the wood of her kitchen table and she groaned.

"Shikamaru, how do you do this!"

She heard a soft chuckle from outside and turned her head to see a lazy haze of smoke wafting by her back door. At least he had the decency to go outside, she reasoned with herself when she fought the urge to yank the cigarette from his mouth. She knocked her head against the table one last time for good measure before pushing her hair back and heading out to stand beside him. He was looking out into her garden, the cigarette dangling from his fingers and smouldering onto the ground.

"They're naughty,"

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow and wrapped his lips around the cigarette, taking a long, slow drag before answering her.

"So were we. They're getting better,"

Sakura propped herself in the door frame and looked out at the setting sun watching as it settled itself into the horizon and painted it a swirl of burning orange and soft pink. She wondered when Ino's mission would end, it was strange to have such an uneasy silence in the house for so long. Shikamaru had asked her to take over his genin team for the day, and though she hadn't asked why, the scent of multiple cigarettes clinging to his clothes suggested he had spent the day talking with Asuma. It was a shame he hadn't mentioned she would be spending her day trying to teach his disobedient genin how to channel chakra to cut down a tree.

"I made them use axes in the end," she told him, ignoring the stifled snort from beside her, "I got sick of hearing them complain about the others punching with chakra fists. Riku wanted to use an explosive tag, I had to diffuse _that_ idea as fast as possible,"

Shikamaru dropped the cigarette to the ground and crushed it under his foot before picking it up and dropping it into the garbage can by the door.

"Thank you for taking care of them today, Sakura. I owe you,"

Sakura shrugged one shoulder, "Just take Pig out for a nice dinner when she gets back, I'm sure I'm going to have to listen to a whole lot of complaining about this idiot she was escorting. Better you than me,"

"...troublesome,"

She laughed as he left. He had come by under the pretense of thanking her for taking his students, but as he fidgeted and began several halting sentences, Sakura had gently pried out of him that Mirai's birthday was coming up and he wanted to buy her something nice. Kurenai and Asuma's daughter had taken a shine to him from the moment she was born, and nothing could ever keep her from shrieking in delight every time she saw him. Sakura had heard Kurenai mention that Mirai had grown out of several of her yukata, so she had given Shikamaru the name of a store in the heart of Konoha. The smile on his face was enough to make her heart swell.

Sakura was debating going out in search of dinner, her day of pleading with genin had taken a toll on her. There was a crunch of footsteps on pebble before there was a knock at her door. She frowned as she swung it open; she didn't know anyone who would be visiting her this time of day.

"Kakashi-sensei?"

He held up a take out bag and smiled, "Yo."

"...come in?"

Pakkun trotted in between Kakashi's legs and resumed his usual spot on the sofa, mushing himself down into the cushions and burying into the patterned blanket her grandmother had given her. Kakashi made his way to the kitchen and began rummaging through her cupboards, setting plates on the table and dishing out the food, humming to himself and not making eye contact. Sakura pulled back her chair and sat down, mouth watering as the smell of fresh kakuni reached her. Kakashi settled in beside her and pulled down his mask, offering her a tight smile. She could see the tension in his shoulders; and the way he held himself stiff and upright told her there was something wrong. She didn't question him, instead dug into her food and began making idle chatter.

"...I start again in a few days which will be nice, I've really missed being at the hospital. I know Tsunade-sama is trying to give me all the time off I've been missing but I feel like part of me belongs there, y'know? I want to be there all the time, giving people the help I can get. I tried going in there to give Moegi and Konohamaru some company and the nurses chased me out. I know I need to have days off but I just feel like I'm letting people down. Naruto took the news pretty well, though I think it was probably because I had the summons sit on him if he didn't,"

Pakkun wandered in and sat beside the plate of meat Sakura had laid out for him, various leftovers she hadn't felt like finishing. Sakura cleaned her plate and stood up, stacking Kakashi's empty plate onto her own and setting it down in the sink.

"Thank you for dinner, Kakashi-sensei. What was the occasion?"

The silence had gone on long enough, she decided. She had carried the conversation on her back all of dinner, but now she was going to pry it out of him with her fists if necessary. Kakashi pulled his mask up and met her eyes, no hint of his thoughts on his face.

"Would you like to spar, Sakura?"

She blinked. She and Kakashi, to her knowledge, had ever sparred one on one before. As a genin she had worked with his clones while he tried to wrestle Sasuke and Naruto into submission or to stop them killing each other; and she had worked against him with Naruto and Sai during training, but they had never fought toe to toe before. As if on cue, the tiny speck of her younger self reared its ugly head, the insecurities she fought so hard through her adulthood to suppress breaking through. Even years later, with all her accomplishments stacked high against her, Sakura still found the small, insecure kunoichi she had once been still lingering inside her. But something she had learned through trial and error was that the past would always come knocking, it was just how you dealt with it that determined what kind of person you were. Kakashi may never have asked her to spar with him before, but he was asking now... and that was what mattered.

"If you think you can keep up, Kakashi-sensei,"

The training ground was empty, illuminated only by the bright moon and the stars above them. Sakura followed Kakashi to one of the large trees in the clearing before pulling on her gloves and adjusting her hitai-ate.

"Rules?"

Kakashi tapped his own hitai-ate, "I won't use my Sharingan, but only if you don't use your chakra infusions. I think Tsunade-sama would be unhappy if there were any earthquake reports this time of night. First to pin the other? Best of three?"

No special abilities was fair. She assumed Shizune had told him to avoid overuse of his Sharingan, so she wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth that he was listening to her advice. No chakra strength would make things difficult; while she certainly wasn't helpless without them, Kakashi had height, weight, and experience well over her. She watched Kakashi shed his vest, Icha Icha novels, and his hip pouch on the ground before smiled at her, the corner of his visible eye crinkling.

"Try and keep up, Sakura-chan,"

He leapt into the tree and disappeared, leaving her glancing around in shock. She jumped into the safety of one of the branches in case he had gone underground and closed her eyes, listening to the rustle of the wind in the leaves. She slowed her heartbeat, taking in every sound around her, tuning out the rush of blood in her ears before she reached out and snatched Kakashi's foot as it came down towards her face. He exploded into a puff of smoke and she sighed when she saw him at the base of the tree, nodding in approval.

"How did you know I was there?"

"Wind was blowing east, then suddenly the leaves were shifting west,"

She jumped down, faking a kick to his abdomen before sweeping his feet out from under him as he tried to dodge. He caught himself before he fell, pushing one hand into the dirt and cartwheeling to his feet. Sakura held her position, watching every twitch of his muscles to try and gauge where he would move. She saw his left arm shift and she prepared to retaliate, only to block a fist to her face at the last second. He continued his assault, unyielding kicks and punches that forced her backwards across the training ground. He was faster than she had expected, each hit perfectly timed so she had only a millisecond to block the next attack. Sakura faked a stumble and a pained cry and landed flat on her back, but used his moment of surprise to kick his ankle out from under him and flip him to the ground. Had she been allowed to use her chakra strength, she would have sat on his chest like an anchor and watched him flail like Naruto did. Instead, she gripped his biceps and slung her leg across his hips to pin him to the ground. Pride welled in her chest and she couldn't help the cocky grin that plastered itself on her face.

"Best of three, ne?"

Her victory was short lived. Kakashi learned his lesson of distraction and showed no mercy, bringing each hit faster and harder. Though he hadn't placed a rule against ninjutsus or genjutsus, both of them had fallen into taijutsu with an unspoken comfort. Kakashi was calculating, knowing each of her moves almost before she did them. He had her on her back, covered in sweat within ten minutes, tipping two fingers to his forehead and giving her a mock salute. She understood was Kakashi was so respected and feared among shinobi; his technique was unlike anything she had ever seen. He moved with a grace and fluidity that was often foregone in favour of brute strength, but it did nothing to hinder the calculating and intensity of his attacks. Even without the Sharingan, she now saw why Kakashi was so often requested for missions, and why Tsunade had tried time and again to get him to take another genin team.

"It was best of three, right Sakura?"

He was mocking her, dammit. She wrenched her arm free and brought her elbow deep into the tissue of his shoulder blade, the grunt of pain she heard muffled by her ear a perfect reward. He was off her in an instant, already defensive and prepared. Sakura threw herself into the spar, giving it everything she could without infusing chakra into her punches. The moon was rising higher in the sky as they crossed the grounds again and again, neither one gaining the upper hand over the either for more than a moment. Sakura could feel her muscles screaming, her breath coming in sharp pants. She was soaked in sweat and her hitai-ate had fallen off somewhere in the midst of her being tackled to the ground before she had broken free of Kakashi's arms. She could see Kakashi taking deep, measured breaths and saw him favourite his left knee. The desire to win was drained out of her in an instant and she waved both hands in the air, the universal sign of a forfeited match.

"Ah, come on Sakura, don't give up on me now,"

Had she hadn't been concerned, she would be proud. Kakashi's voice was strained and broken by gasps for air. She had worn him out just as much as he had to her.

"Have I hurt you, Kakashi-sensei? Why didn't you say something?"

Sakura dropped to her knees in front of Kakashi and pushed his loose jounin pants up around his knee, the sticky dark ooze of blood sealing it to his skin. She thought back at her attacks and remembered the two of them falling into a crater, both landing hard. Sakura had taken a sharp stick to the arm, but it had been only a scratch. Kakashi had, it seemed, received a more annoying injury and had still almost managed to best her. She brought her hand, glowing with cool green light to his knee and looked up to find him peering down at her, head tilted to the side.

"...I didn't even notice that,"

Sakura huffed. Men.

"You were favoring it, I was worried."

"Ahhh, or you knew I was going to win anyway,"

She bristled, ready to smack him sideways before she saw the crinkle of his eye and she relaxed, finishing up her healing and pulling pant leg back into place.

"It looks like when I knocked you into the crater you took some of the tree trunk to the knee. Wouldn't have been too bad of an injury, but with your recovery from the surgery I think your body wasn't quite ready for it. We had so much adrenaline I guess you didn't notice."

 _Didn't notice- yeah right, he probably thought **I** wouldn't notice. _

Kakashi was offering out his hand and she wrapped her fingers in his, letting him pull her up as though she weighed nothing. She dusted the dirt of her knees, though it was a wasted effort. Between the sweat, the kiss of summer in the air, and all the dirt and leaves she had accumulated, she was a mess. She would need a shower.

She crinkled her nose when the breeze shifted and she caught her own scent.

And some deodorant.

A lot of it.

"You smell, Sakura,"

Sakura smacked his arm, "Eh! Like you smell like fresh roses!"

She squinted out across the training grounds and sighed, "I lost my hitai-ate, do you see it?"

She ruffled her hair out of habit and tried to shove a few of the annoying hairs away from her face. She had gotten into the habit of using it as a way to tame her hair while it lingered in the awkward stage of being too long to let it sit naturally, but too short to do anything nice with. Kakashi reached into his pocket and tugged the thin band of red fabric free.

"I picked it up when you were done punching me in the face, before we ended up in the crater. Which I threw _you_ in, by the way,"

"Mmm, no, it was definitely me. I kicked out the back of your knee and you fell,"

They were heading back to her apartment, the gentle silence of the night settled into the cracks of Konoha. In the distance, Sakura could hear the lively sounds of the heart of Konoha that would continue well into the early hours of the morning.

"Sakura, I can assure that actually, we fell into the crater when I hip checked you and you grabbed my arm,"

Sakura slipped her key into the lock, already hearing the low rumble of Pakkun's snoring in her living room. The ninken were piled together on her couch, a tangle of legs and fur. She could see Kakashi staring in disbelief and she laughed quietly, "Apparently your bed isn't comfortable,"

Kakashi straightened, "My bed is _fine_ , thank you,"

Sakura held her hands up in surrender, "I can only go by what they say, Kakashi-sensei. None of us have ever seen inside your apartment before. Naruto is convinced you've actually killed Mr Ukki and you're too scared to tell us,"

"I can assure you that Mr. Ukki is fine. Thank you for sparring with me, Sakura. It has been... a long day,"

Sakura's smile didn't quite reach her eyes and she knew it. She understood those days, they usually ended with Tsunade getting reports of 'suspicious tectonic plate activity' and a verbal warning from her shishou.

"Thank you for dinner, Kakashi-sensei. I'll have to repay the favor sometime,"

Kakashi seemed like he wanted to call for his dogs, but shook his head in defeat. Sakura didn't mind, it was nice to have the company. She had considered pursuing a ninken for a long time, but she was yet to find one who felt right.

"You don't need to call me sensei anymore, Sakura," he reminded her, "Naruto doesn't."

Sakura tipped her head to the side, "Ahhh, I know. It just seems so strange to not call you that. But I'll try my best... Kakashi,"

It felt wrong leaving her mouth, and the desire to tack the honorific onto the end hung at the end of her tongue for a long moment. Kakashi looked past her at the dogs one last time and muttered something she didn't quite catch, but sounded suspiciously like 'spoiled' -she was offended, the ninken deserved everything she ever gave them- before he held his hands up in his usual peace sign.

"Goodnight, Sakura,"

"Goodnight,"

He was gone in a flicker of smoke and Sakura let the door close behind him. She stretched her arms high above her head and met eyes with Pakkun, who had crept along the floor without her noticing.

"...you smell like you and Kakashi were rolling all over each other,"

Sakura blushed and cleared her throat, "We were sparring, Pakkun."

He sniffed the air and Sakura briefly wondered what else he would be smelling for, but quickly decided she didn't want to think about it. She gently scratched behind his ears and he made a noise of appreciation.

"That fat cat of yours tried gettin' out earlier. Thing's a menace to society, no idea what you see in him."

Sakura looked up the stairs to see two gold eyes peering out of the darkness, accompanied by an unimpressed yowl. She offered Pakkun a tight smile.

"I'm handling it. You'll see,"


	11. Chapter 11

**KONOHAGAKURE- LAST YEAR- TWO WEEKS AFTER THE SPRING FESTIVAL**

* * *

"Ne, Sakura-chan, do I have to do this?"

Naruto squirmed away from Sakura's cold hands as she pried his eyes open and shined her small flashlight into them. He was sitting on the exam table in his ramen patterned underwear, feet swinging idly as they dangled off the edge. Sakura flickered the light on and off, left to right, before finally setting it down.

"Yes, Naruto. All shinobi on active roster duty need their medical assessments done. Even with the kyuubi you're not immune to anything,"

Naruto scrunched his nose in distaste as he watched her lift a long, sharp needle from the small tray beside her. The small swab in her hand tingled on his upper arm and she frowned off into the distance.

"What's that?"

Naruto turned to see what she was looking at and felt a swift jab at his arm, the prick of the needle making him whine.

"Sakura-chan, that was mean,"

Sakura smiled and pressed a cotton ball to the pinprick of blood that was forming, "Half the shinobi in this village would rather take a kunai to the face than get a vaccination. Absolutely ridiculous,"

Naruto watched Sakura consult his chart, scratching absently at the back of her neck with the pen in her hand. He shivered in the cool air of the exam room and kicked his feet a few more times. Sakura scrawled on the paper and let the folder in her hand snap shut.

"Your chakra levels are normal for you, so no concerns there. Vitals normal across the board; good pupil reaction and reflexes. You might feel a little nauseous from the vaccine but there's been reports of sickness just south of Konoha, so any shinobi heading out in that direction needed it. I promise you that a little poke and prod is much better than five days of vomiting, diarrhea, fever dreams and cold sweats,"

He was going to speak, but a sharp staccato knock on the door interrupted him. Sakura's easy, relaxed position changed; her back now straight and her shoulders squared.

"This room is occupied for a medical exam, come back later,"

Naruto knew his medical exams were handled differently to most other shinobi. With the kyuubi inside him, he was taken to a different wing of the hospital and Baa-chan usually handled the medical treatment. This year, however, she had sent word that Sakura was going to do it. He didn't mind- Tsunade poked and prodded harder than Sakura-chan, and she wasn't as nice. But since his medical assessments were different, Sakura had mentioned that nobody should know he was here. It was a protocol for safety, should anything go wrong, but nobody had ever come knocking before. He could see Sakura clenching her fist, the gentle glow of her chakra gathering in her fingertips. Naruto tugged his shirt haphazardly over his head.

"Haruno-san, I have been sent on orders from the Hokage to bring you and Uzumaki-san to her."

Sakura didn't relax, only handed Naruto his pants and slipped a thin kunai from the pocket of her white coat.

"And her message?"

"Mikkaminumanosakura,"

Sakura relaxed and headed to the door, letting it crack open to reveal a porcelain mask staring back. Naruto tied his hitai-ate and stepped up behind Sakura, staring into the blank eye holes of the ANBU mask.

"What does Baa-chan want with us?"

Naruto had barely seen her since the day before the Spring festival. He had wanted permission to leave Konoha to take Konohamaru out beyond the border to help him with his stealth and tracking skills, but he had found her office empty except for Shizune, who had told him Tsunade-sama was too busy for visitors and all requests were to be directed to her.

The ANBU operative didn't answer, only disappeared down the hall and clearly expected them to follow without complaint. Sakura, surprisingly, didn't attempt to put up a fight, only tangled her fingers in Naruto's and headed after the shinobi. The leapt from rooftop to rooftop, leaving the heart of the village and heading further North, into the civilian district. Their final destination was a small house, one level and painted beige. The garden was well kept, and soft blue curtains fluttered against the open windows. To a civilian, it would look like any other house in the area; but Naruto could see the ripple of chakra surrounding the building, forced into a curcle in the dirt and glowing as they stepped over it. The ANBU member knocked hard on the door; two knocks- a pause-three knocks- a pause-two knocks. It swung open and Tsunade appeared, looking more like a grandmother than Naruto had ever seen her.

"I'll take it from here. Leave."

The shinobi was gone with a flicker of the air and Sakura bowed her head politely.

"Shishou... you requested us?"

Tsunade cleared her throat and help out her hand, palm up and glowing with chakra.

"I will need the two of you to submit a chakra sample before I can allow you to enter. From this moment on, any time either of you enter the chakra circle around this building, myself and several ANBU will be notified. If either of you enter this building without expressed permission from me, you will be removed from the mission roster indefinitely."

Naruto balked at her brusque behaviour and the looming threat. What could possibly be in here that would be so important? Sakura offered out her hand first, the smell of hot flesh making Naruto's nose crinkle as she gave her chakra sample. Naruto followed suit, feeling the heat rushing through his veins until Tsunade pulled away. They followed her inside and Naruto looked around the simply furnished home. A small table inside a small kitchen, a single couch sitting atop a light blue rug. One door was open and Naruto could see a tiny bathroom wedged into the corner. The second door was closed, only the quiet murmurs from inside telling him that someone was beyond the door. He was bursting with curiosity, but forced himself to be calm. Sakura was holding his hand, rubbing the flat of her thumb against his fingernails in circles. She only did that when she was nervous, so he offered her what he hoped was a reassuring squeeze.

"The official announcement will be made by me tomorrow morning, but I felt it would be best if the two of you were informed by me personally. I need to make it perfectly clear that regardless of what I am to the two of you personally- I took an oath to protect this village and its citizens with my life, and I will do whatever is necessary to ensure I keep that promise. There will be no favouritism here. But I understand that this situation will be... delicate. While things are being handled, the two of you will be allowed to visit under strict supervision. But I need to make myself _very_ clear here," Tsunade looked at Naruto with hardened eyes, "People have been sentenced to death for less in this village, and if that is what comes to be decided... I will have no choice,"

The closed door creaked open and Naruto felt his world shift on an angle. Sakura's hand suddenly gripped his like a vice, the crack of his fingers loud in the unnaturally silent room, but he didn't register the pain. Sasuke was framed in the doorway. Two blue bands encircled each wrist like a bracelet, glowing as he stepped out into the living room. Chakra bands; a constant beacon of his whereabouts that would make him unable to use his chakra. He looked terrible; eyes rimmed with dark circles that clashed with his paper white skin, his lips cracked and his cheeks hollow.

Kakashi was behind Sasuke, not making eye contact with either of his former students. He placed his hand on Sasuke's shoulder and murmured something Naruto didn't catch, but Sasuke's lips twitched at the corner.

"You both look well,"

Sakura's hand was gone from his and he saw a flash of pink, a blur of blonde, and heard Kakashi make an aborted cry of Sakura's name. The slap across Sasuke's face left a red welt and the echoing smack made Naruto flinch. Tsunade sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose as Sakura stepped back. Sasuke brought his hand up to graze the welt.

"I deserve that..."

Naruto could have laughed. He wanted to. Wanted to let the bubbling emotions in his chest burst out to stop from choking together in his throat. The last time he had seen Sasuke, the man had tried to kill him. Had thrown a kunai with perfect accuracy and had only failed because Kakashi threw himself in front of Naruto at the last moment.

"Sasuke... why? How?"

Sasuke was looking at Tsunade, the pair sharing a conversation in silence that Naruto couldn't breach. Sakura, for her sudden burst of anger, seemed calm again. She pushed her hair back and reached for Naruto's hand, the tingle of chakra working into the bones of his fingers. He tried to catch her eyes, but she kept her gaze down. He could feel the tremble in her fingertips, and he didn't need to see her face to know she was likely as conflicted as he was. Angry, hurt and confused. Sasuke was watching them with sharp eyes.

"I am the last surviving Uchiha. I completed my goal of avenging my family... it was time to return home."

Home. The word made Naruto's heart sing. His friend was back. Tsunade's words of warning were pushing at the back of his mind but he ignored them, letting the warmth and comfort of the reunited Team 7 to flow through him. He would fight for Sasuke to be pardoned, and then they could return to being a team. They could fix the past mistakes and everything could be okay.

It was going to be okay.

He wouldn't let anything separate his family again.

* * *

"I would like to discuss the suspicious death of Uchiha Sasuke,"

Naruto jerked his head up, eyes looking to Gaara, who subtly raised his hand off the table in a gesture of calming. The Kages had all gathered in the meeting room of the Kazekage Tower; the lofty ceilings and floor to ceiling windows allowing for a soft breeze to swirl around them. Naruto could see guards posted at every possible entrance, stoic, but coiled like a cat ready to pounce. Each Kage had come with no less than six bodyguards, and Naruto wondered if maybe he should have accepted Tsunade's suggestion of bringing one for himself. Gaara turned his head to the Tsuchikage and pursed his lips.

"Tsuchikage-sama, I understand that you brought with you some concerns regarding Konohagakure, but as we discussed when you arrived, without the Hokage-sama present, I would prefer you not discuss them,"

"The Hokage did not see fit to grace us with her presence, Kazekage-sama, instead she sent us the jinchuuriki she plans to allow control the village,"

An obvious ripple of unease worked through the table and Naruto grit his teeth. When he had been introduced to the group as the Konoha representative, he had seen the looks in their eyes. Only Mei, the Mizukage, had smiled warmly at him. They had met before, though only briefly. He knew she held no grudge against him as a jinchuuriki. Gaara seemed unfazed by the insult.

"I would like to remind yo, Tsuchikage-sama, that you are currently being welcomed with open arms into the home of a former junchuuriki. Uzumaki-san has proven himself more than capable of handling the kyuubi, and I personally believe he will make an excellent Hokage after the Godaime steps down from her position. If you find it necessary we speak about the Hokage and Konohagakure, however, I suggest we do so politely. What are your concerns?"

The Tsuchikage narrowed his eyes at Naruto, who straightened in his chair and met the sharp gaze without fear.

"I want to know how the last of the Uchiha clan died,"

Naruto bowed his head slightly, "As reported to all shinobi villages shortly after his death, Uchiha Sasuke died as a result of a rare genetic condition within his bloodline. His illness was discovered weeks after he was pardoned by the court of Konohagakure, and he was... unable to be healed,"

The memory of Tsunade, blank faced and wearing only her pajamas, rose in his mind. He had known as soon as he sensed her chakra what she had been going to say that early morning. He remembered seeing Sasuke's body, almost nothing but skin and bone, covered in a white sheet and shut away in a cell. There had been so much anger, so much rage when he had been pardoned. The hospital hadn't been able to take him for fear that when the news got out, people would have flooded the area to try and prevent him from being buried within the borders of the village.

"The great medic nin couldn't save him?" the Tsuchikage scoffed, "How convenient,"

"The mutation within the Uchiha clan genes was documented as far back as the creation of the village. The chakra of the host begins to mutate and attack itself... as though eating the body inside out. It is, unfortunately, an incurable disease. Adding more chakra to the system only serves to cause further mutation and replication of the disease. Our Hokage worked tirelessly in the weeks she was given to try and find a way to slow down the disease's process, but it wasn't possible."

"How convenient."

"Would you like to elaborate?"

He knew he couldn't rise to the bait. Tsunade had warned him that events like these were, on the surface, about peace and fairness, but underneath it all lingered the selfish desire for anything to hold a grudge against. The Tsuchikage, steepled his fingers and looked around the table at the other Kage.

"The reason none of us were able to seek justice for the acts of Uchiha Sasuke on our villages was because the Hokage took him into the village under an ancient rule written at one of the first Kage Summits. In the event of prominent clan extinction, or the loss of a kekkei-genkai that is vital to the village; the shinobi in question will be cleared of all pending charges outside of their own village- with the proviso that they are to be stripped of all ninja duties, and used only for repopulation of the clan,"

Naruto's heart leapt into his throat but he tried to keep his face blank. He had known Tsunade was forced to find an old rule to make sure no villages could get their hands on Sasuke, but he had no idea the rule suggested it was to use him solely for his bloodline. The Tsuchikage continued, unhindered.

"The Hokage was well aware that should an Uchiha be forced to face his crimes outside of Konohagakure, that village would have access to one of the last Sharingan in all of the shinobi villages. Had Sasuke Uchiha used it to bargain... I'm sure I speak for everyone at this table when I say we would have been more than happy to accommodate him. So, instead of doing the right thing and turning him in to the villages he had ruined in his pursuit of revenge; she claimed to wish to repopulate the Uchiha clan... and then Uchiha Sasuke just so happens to die. Now she doesn't have to worry about the Sharingan falling into any other hands; I'm sure in exchange for his freedom he bargained several of the Uchiha clan documents; and a pesky fly in the eyes of Konoha is quietly taken care of. You are undoubtedly too young to remember, child... but the Uchiha clan has always been nothing but trouble."

"That is enough."

Naruto saw Mei rise from her chair, hands planted firmly on the desk as she stared down at the Tsuchikage.

"Tsunade Senju has proven time and again that she is dedicated to protecting not just her village, but the lives of anyone who asks for her help. Your accusations are unfounded, and clearly rooted in your anger of not being able to secure the Sharingan for your village. Uchiha Sasuke was pardoned by an impartial court of Konoha- the village of his clan for many years- and therefore where he belonged. If you would like to seek reparations from every shinobi who has ever caused harm to your village, I would suggest you start now, it might take you quite a few years. Uzumaki-san has been sent as a representative of the Hokage, and should be treated with the same respect you would show her. I have had many dealings with Tsunade-sama and the shinobi of Konohagakure, and I have seen nothing to suggest that she would stoop as low as to murder one of her own villagers for such ridiculous reasons. Uchiha Sasuke's death was, as Uzumaki-san stated, a terrible and unfortunate situation. I suggest we finish speaking ill of the dead. And if you were hoping to discuss your thoughts surrounding the supposed war, I will happily set your mind at ease. Tsunade is a medic, and I know it runs through her blood in a way her position as Hokage will never be able to match. She wishes for no war; and nor do I. Too many of us have become adults with our hands drenched in blood; only an absolute fool would try to bring it about on purpose," she said pointedly, raising one perfectly arched eyebrow in the direction of the Tsuchikage.

She sat back down and brushed her hair away from her face, a picture of poise and elegance, but with a quiet ferocity Naruto had seen in the eyes of Tsunade and Sakura on many occasions. The Tsuchikage had red spreading across his cheeks and down his neck, but he said nothing more. The hint of a smirk on Gaara's upturned lip caught Naruto's attention, and the other male Kage were shifting awkwardly in their seats.

"Let's take a break."

All but Gaara, Naruto and Mei left the room, their body guards following close behind. Naruto turned to Mei, ready to thank her, but she reached out and grabbed his upper arm.

"Naruto... you are going to be an excellent Hokage one day. Don't ever take anything those men say to heart; they never approved of Tsunade-sama becoming Hokage, and they have never respected me since the day I was given the title of Mizukage. Old men are scared of two things- women who know what they're doing, and young men who know better than they do,"

She nodded to Gaara, whose mouth curled into a soft smile. Naruto wanted to grab Mei in a tight hug, but he didn't want to risk taking a kunai to the face from one of her body guards, so he settled for reaching out and taking her hand.

"Tsunade-sama is a good woman. She would _never_ -"

"I know. And if anyone from today decides to try and take their accusations further, Konoha will have nothing but the support of Kirigakure. The word is changing, Naruto. We don't start wars out of anger and boredom. We don't risk lives of hundreds of good men and women because we cannot satiate our appetite for power."

The knot that had been forming in Naruto's gut since Gaara had warned him about the rumours uncoiled slightly. Things were going to be okay.

Maybe this time they really would be.

* * *

"Let us toast to the brilliance of our own youth, and to the youth of those around us!"

Gai was particularly perky this evening. Kakashi looked over the top of his glass of umeshu at Genma, who was nursing his beer with one hand and had his other tangled with Shizune's. Anko was drinking something that smelled like acetone, her face unchanging with every sip. Gai offered them his trademark smile and toasted his beer into the air.

"I don't feel particularly youthful these days; but sure, why not" Genma said, half heartedly raising his glass and draining half of it. Shizune nudged him in the ribs and smiled.

"That was a lovely toast, Gai-san,"

Anko knocked back the rest of her glass and smacked her lips, "Who else is tired of not being allowed out on missions, raise your hand?"

Genma and Kakashi both raised their arms and Shizune clicked her tongue as she sipped her tonic water, "Rules are rules; just be thankful Tsunade-sama can't afford to keep you both in the village for longer. With Kakashi-san out of the mission roster; Naruo-san in Suna, and a bunch of a jounin out on missions, we need all hands on deck,"

Gai perked up at the mention of Kakashi's name and pointed a finger at him, levelled between his eyes. Kakashi sipped his drink.

"Kakashi, it is my pleasure to inform you that you have gained yourself another lifetime rival!"

...oh no. Genma was smirked, and Anko looked like a cat who had eaten a particularly delicious canary. Gai punched the air.

"Lee informed me that you are now a rival in his quest for love!"

Genma choked on his beer, spraying it across the table while Shizune blushed and began trying to clean it, holding up an apologetic hand to the bartender. Anko was as close to purring as a human could get.

"Oh really, Gai? And who are Kakashi and Lee fighting over?"

"His former student, the beautiful spring flower!"

It was Kakashi's turn to choke. The taste of sour plums shooting into the back of his throat and burning his nostrils. Anko was outright cackling now, clutching her sides and wheezing for breath. Shizune was surveying Kakashi with a look he didn't like. When he finally managed to draw breath, he cleared his throat and wiped the droplets of umeshu from his chin.

"Ahh, Gai, you are definitely mistaken. Sakura and I are friends, there is definitely no... love rivalry. Required."

"On the contrary, Kakashi! Lee informs me that he has seen you and Sakura together on many occasions; and that last night the two of you were together on the training ground, holding one another in the twilight. Though I support him in his quest, I have to say, what a romantic gesture,"

No no no. No. Is word about this got back to Tsunade he would end up hung by his toes from the Hokage Monument. Genma was trying to hide his smile behind his drink, but was failing miserably.

"Sakura and I were sparring last night, there was no... holding of any kind. She has been taking care of my ninken for a while, and since I'm stuck in the village w have been seeing more of each other. There is no love rivalry."

There was no denying that Sakura had become a beautiful young woman. Even more than her looks, she was kind, intelligent, and loved with her whole heart. If things had been different; if there hadn't been years between them like a canyon-

He wasn't going to go there. She had been his student, for god's sake.

Gai deflated slightly, but fixed his shoulders and clapped Kakashi on the shoulder, "Well I will assure Lee that he has no reason to view you as a rival. He will be glad to hear it; there are already so many in the village who crave her affection,"

Shizune had relaxed, much to Kakashi's relief. He didn't need anyone thinking he was trying to court his student, least of all the two women who had spent the last several years mentoring her. Anko's cackling had subsided into a soft wheeze and she flicked a tear away from the corner of her eye.

"Speaking of, Hatake, how long has it been?"

She grinned, showing far too much teeth as she did so. The innuendo had been enough for him to know what she meant, but she made a gesture with her fingers just in case he had missed it. Genma snorted into his mug.

"Anko- let's try and keep things clean tonight,"

"I second that," Shizune spoke up, rising from the table and seizing Anko under the arm, "Anko and I are going to get another round. On her."

Gai gave them a thumbs up, accompanied by his trademark smile. Kakashi sank lower into his chair. Coming out tonight had been a bad idea. Genma seemed to sense his thinking and chuckled.

"Ah, we all know it's not a thing. Lee just needs to burn off all that excess energy he's got, he wants a rival like nobody's business,"

"My student has exceptional amounts of energy! He once ran eight hundred laps around the village!"

 _Don't ask why- don't ask why_

"Why?"

Dammit, Genma. Never ask why.

"To prove the never ending strength of a youthful hearth! Would you like to try it, Genma?"

"...I'll pass. Thanks,"

Shizune and Anko returned with several various glasses between them, and Kakashi was relieved at the distraction. He didn't need to be challenged to any rivalries tonight. The easy conversation between the group continued, shifting from mission rosters to the intended home renovations Genma and Shizune were planning.

"I'm busy that day," Kakashi said, "My apologies,"

Shizune giggled, "Kakashi-san we haven't even told you when we will be going it,"

"I will absolutely be busy though, Shizune. My deepest and most sincere apologies. Though Yamato is an excellent hand with renovation, I'm sure he would _love_ to help you,"

"Yamato took my mission to the south village," Genma grouched, "The one time I was going to get a chance to sleep in a nice bed on a mission and not the wet floor of a forest and I didn't even get to go,"

The bitching continued into the night; the crowd of the bar dwindling lower until they were one of the few people left. Anko had worked her way through an entire bottle of the suspicious liquid, and her words were only just beginning to slur together. As was gripping Gai's bicep appreciatively, muttering something about 'endurance' that Kakashi absolutely did not want to hear the rest of. Shizune was gently rubbing the back of a somewhat tipsy Genma's hand, gently reminding him that she refused to heal anything related to hangovers. Gai offered to walk Anko home, shouting about honour and appropriately courting when she leered suggestively at him and he declined her advances. Shizune had Genma by the arm as they left, though he was more than capable of keeping himself upright.

"Ugh, I forgot how much Gai can drink. Where does he keep it all?" Genma mumbled, keeping his head down, his senbon falling from his lips and onto the ground.

"Tsunade-sama wondered the same thing, but I wouldn't let her bring Gai in for any tests. I don't need her figuring out a way to drink _more_ sake,"

Kakashi was only half listening to their discussion. He was still thinking about the earlier conversation, and how Lee had misinterpreted the time he had been spending with Sakura. Admittedly, they were certainly spending much more time together now than they ever had; but there was absolutely not anything between them. She did bring him comfort, however, and it was something he found he had craved. There were few people besides Gai and Genma he felt he could be so open with, and relax so comfortably around. The fact the ninken liked her was only a bonus; there had been many women in his life who had disliked the ninken, and they had hated them in return.

But Sakura wasn't a woman in his life. She was a friend.

"Kakashi? Are you coming up?"

Shizune was holding the door with one hand, Genma trying and failing to look casual as he propped himself up beside the door. Kakashi followed them in and helped Shizune get Genma up the several flights of stairs to their apartment, hearing his friend grunt and grumble as the door swung shut behind him he he promptly landed face first on the couch. Kakashi's own apartment was quiet. He made his way to the bathroom and cupped his hands under the faucet, drinking deeply. He really needed to fix his broken kitchen sink. He would get around to it. He pulled down his mask and scratched absently at the scattered grey stubble starting to grow. Something pink on his balcony caught his eye and he froze, not daring to consider why Sakura would be on his balcony at this hour of the night. Upon closer inspection, however, the pink was a garish ribbon wrapped around a small pink pot no larger than his hand. A spiky cactus with pink flowers was nestled into the dirt, a note tucked under the pot.

 _Mr. Ukki needed a friend. This is Ms. Shia. Take good care of her. -S_

Kakashi looked at the note, and then again at the cactus. He smiled as he set her down beside Mr. Ukki, shaking his head. Sakura would always have her quirks, he assumed. That was what made her so fascinating.

* * *

Jiraya cleared the rooftops of Konoha with practiced ease. The gate guards had told him about the attack when he arrived, and he had forced the last of his energy into getting to Tsunade. The Hokage residence was tucked close to the tower, a thin ring of chakra glowing on the ground as he crossed. He smiled at the knowledge that Tsunade hadn't made his chakra signature trigger any kind of alarm, especially after he leaned her out of sake the last time he was here. Her home was dark, and he crept through it, keeping light on his feet. He had expected the guards to alert Tsunade that he had arrived, but maybe he had been faster than their messenger.

"You better have sake,"

A light from the kitchen glared into his eyes and he found Tsunade sitting at the table; her hair unbound and wearing her mint green and baby blue pajamas; looking wholly unthreatening. Her feet were bare, and she hadn't bothered to try and tame the tangled blonde strands of hair that fell into her face.

"Beautiful as ever, my dear,"

Tsunade barely cracked a tired smile as he slid into the chair across from her and performed a release seal on several random items from his pocket. Sake bottles appeared on the table in multitudes, and Tsunade sighed.

"I assume this means I'm not going to like what it is you have to tell me,"

Jiraiya reached for one of the bottles and poured a generous amount into a faded coral sake cup.

"There is definitely a spy in Konoha. I eavesdropped on some Iwa shinobi and they know far too much about the goings on within the village. But interestingly enough, they also know a lot of lies. Its hard enough for me to sort out whats true from what isn't, so no wonder there are rumors flying left and right. What do you know about the gate attack?"

She told him her suspicions; a planned attack to test Sakura's skills, Kakashi's missing file, the dead villager. Jiraiya saw her shoulders get heavier with each block of information and he refilled her cup before she had even drained it.

"Well, your theory works with my theory. Rumors in Earth Country tell me Kakashi is losing his vision, which we know isn't true, but they have no way of knowing. If someone was going to make a move for the Sharingan, they don't know if it's even worth trying to take. But if they managed to get hold of his medical file, even though there is minimal information about the Sharingan, it will tell them when he last had a checkup, and whether or not anything was done to the eye. I think the kidnapping was a set up. They roughed up his eye to make sure you took a good look at it and gave it the all clear, and then they took his medical records to make sure they weren't going to end up with a defective eye,"

"But why kidnap him? Why not just get the jump on him and damage the eye?"

"Too obvious. Stage it well enough to make it seem like a failed operation, then swoop in later to get their information. By attacking him inside the treaty zone, they made people anxious. Half of the civilian villages along the border are terrified, and terrified people will be easy to manipulate. That's another part of what you need to know. Seems as though most of Earth is under the impression you're going to attack at any moment and try and overthrow the Tsuchikage,"

Tsunade's eyes widened, "What? Why would I?"

"Nobody seemed to know the answer to that, but it seems like we are just wrapped up in one section of a much larger web. Someone is planting seeds in people's mind; trying to set you, and by extension, Konoha, up. Someone wants to get their hands on Kakashi's Sharingan eye. I'd bet a lot on that being the same person,"

Tsunade rested her head in her hands and sighed heavily.

"I'm not drunk enough for this, Jiraiya,"

He held out another bottle and smiled sadly.

"We have all night, my dear,"


	12. Chapter 12

Rin was running towards him. He felt his chidori break through her ribcage, the sharp crack of bone followed by the unmistakeable squish of her heart being shredded. He was looking into her eyes as they widened in pain, blood beginning to pool in the crack of her mouth as it fell open in a silent scream. Blood squelched between his fingers as he felt her spine snap in half as his chidori continued without mercy. Rin's face began to morph, her skin sinking into her face, eyes becoming dark and her hair painting black. Kakashi looked down and saw his kunai buried deep in Sasuke's heart; the body of his former student falling limp into his arms. Blood, thick and glistening, now painted the ground under his feet as he dropped to his knees and cradled Sasuke's body. He hadn't wanted to do this; he had never wanted them to die by his hand. Sasuke's face was caving in on one side, flesh and bone melting into a horrific mask. Obito's wide eye looked up at him, mouth curled into a disappointing snarl.

"Give me back my eye!"

His hand shot out and Kakashi felt pain erupt on the side of his face as fingernails sank into his eye, blood covering his vision as he screamed.

"WAKE UP!"

Kakashi jerked awake. His throat was raw, his heart threatening to burst through his ribcage. His face burned hot, and he felt the familiar sting of an open palm. There was weight across his lap, and two concerned green eyes staring down at him.

"Sakura?"

Her hand was on the heat of his face, fitting perfectly against the tingling pain as her cold chakra smoothed over it. She had slapped him?

"The ninken came and got me, they tried waking you for over fifteen minutes. You were screaming and thrashing, I didn't know what else to do,"

The pain from her slap faded away but Sakura didn't move from his lap, instead she tilted his face into the light and began inspecting his eye. He felt exposed as she stared critically into the Sharingan, the pads of her fingers stroking along the scar and pressing against his undereyes.

"You were grabbing at it in your sleep, was it in pain?"

He thought of the sharp agony he had felt when Obito had reached for it in the dream, "Ahh, maybe a little,"

Sakura's pale green chakra flickered in the corner of his eye and a huge wave of relief flooded through his head. He hadn't realized the sheer weight on tension he had been carrying. She slid from his lap and sat at the edge of the bed, plucking at several stray threads in his blanket. Pakkun was in the doorway, lingering between coming in and disappearing. Kakashi raised his hand off the bedspread slightly, letting his summons know he wasn't in trouble. It was rare for them to not be able to wake him from his nightmares; he was sure they had done the only thing they could think of.

"You were calling Sasuke's name," Sakura said quietly, reaching for his hand, "Would you... would you like to talk about it?"

A year since Sasuke had died was looming on the horizon. It felt wrong to have Sakura offering him comfort; to have her holding the hand that had killed Sasuke and not even know it. The official story was that Sasuke had died after succumbing to his illness. Tsunade had found Kakashi and Sasuke on the outskirts of the village; Kakashi cradling Sasuke's corpse in his arms. He hadn't been able to bring himself to tell her what had happened, but she had only pulled Sasuke from him and ghosted her hands over the gaping wound in his chest.

"We'll tell them he died from the sickness. That we misjudged how long he had. You did the right thing, Kakashi."

It had been hard to believe it. With the blood of someone else he loved sinking into the lines of his palms and drying under his fingernails. Naruto and Sakura had sobbed until their eyes were raw; Sakura had shut herself within the walls of the hospital for weeks, seeing patient after patient until she had collapsed under the weight of her own body. Naruto had requested two weeks away from the village; Kakashi still didn't know where he had gone during that time, but he had returned with tired eyes and a softness in his smile.

Kakashi had gone about his life as he always had. He had no right to mourn his former student, he had made his decision.

"Kakashi?"

He looked up at Sakura and squeezed her hand. He didn't know if he could ever tell her the truth. Some things were better left unsaid.

"Thank you, Sakura. But it was just a dream."

It surprised him that she had come all this way at the call of his ninken. Silence settled into the cracks of their conversation until the patter of paws on hardwood brought their attention to the door, where Bull, Pakkun and Bisuke were peering around it. Kakashi gestured for them to come in and they leapt up on the bed and sprawled on the covers.

"We were worried about you, Boss. Bisuke licked all over your face and you didn't even flinch,"

Kakashi made a mental note to scrub his face as soon as possible, but reached out and ruffled Pakkun's fur, "Maa, you did the right thing. As long as Sakura didn't mind being woken up,"

He didn't know what time it was, only that there was a soft golden glow beginning to smear along the horizon and break through the darkness. Sakura smiled and tugged at the sleeve of her orange pajamas- another one of Naruto's shirts that clashed horribly with her hair. Maybe for her next birthday he would get someone to buy her pajamas. The orange did her no favors.

"Ah, I was already awake. I have a shift at the hospital in an hour, I should probably get going. Are you sure you're feeling alright, Kakashi?"

Only a sick feeling in his gut lingered from his dreams; the image of Rin, Obito and Sasuke burned into his eyelids every time he closed them. But there was nothing she could do for that, those were his own demons that nobody could heal. Sakura smiled when he denied her help, the smile he knew meant she knew she was being lied to, but was willing to overlook it. She pressed an affectionate kiss onto the heads of his ninken before she ruffled his hair the same way she did with Naruto and Sai. He watched her leap effortlessly over his balcony, bouncing off the railings of the floors below and disappearing into the distance. Pakkun pushed his head against Kakashi's thigh before letting it rest there. Kakashi threaded his fingers through Pakkun's soft fur, feeling a slightly sticky patch of lip balm where Sakura had dropped her kiss.

"You did the right thing for all of those kids, boss,"

"...so everyone says, Pakkun."

* * *

Sakura raked her fingers through her hair and adjusted her hitai-ate. The group of genin in front of her glared sourly at their feet, while Shikamaru leaned against the door with a smirk on his face. Sakura sighed and tapped her foot.

"Are any of you going to tell me how this happened, exactly?"

"It was Riku's fault,"

"Was not!"

"Ne, yes it was!"

Sakura pinched the bridge of her nose and made a note to excuse Kakashi for every time he had ever snuck away from their genin team dinners. If they had been anything like this, she couldn't find it in her heart to blame him anymore. The three teammates were covered in a thick, scaling red rash that crept along their limbs and up into their faces. Apparently while conducting a D rank mission, they had all somehow ended up wrestling in a bush of poisoned leaves and ended up here, much to Shikamaru's chagrin. Sakura uncapped a bottle of thick, grey liquid poured a generous amount into the outstretched palms. It smelled strongly of damp grass and rotting flora, and the three gagged.

"Ne, Sakura-san... can't you just heal these?" Riku asked, wide eyed as he stared at the oozing liquid.

Sakura smiled, "Of course, but if I do that, how will the three of you learn?"

Genin were always coming through the hospital with injuries; usually bickering amongst each other about who was at fault for them and how things should have happened. Though Team 7 hadn't realized it at the time, Kakashi's lesson about teammate bonding had been something that held them together for as long as it did. She let them leave with a bottle of the cream each; giving Shikamaru a jaunty wave as he followed his miserable students out of the hospital doors. Sakura flicked through her patient charts as she headed down one of the long halls of the recovery wing, peeking into the room to see Konohamaru sitting up in bed. His chest was still black and blue, though the edges of his bruises were speckling into a yellow and green tinge. The scar Sakura had left along his neck was puckering at the edges, but otherwise healing as well as could be expected.

"Good morning, nee-chan," Konohamaru greeted her, his wide grin making the knot of concern in her stomach loosen. She let the door slide closed behind her as she headed over and sat at the end of his bed.

"How are you feeling today, Konohamaru?"

"My chest hurts a little, but the nurses gave me something in the bag," he pointed to his IV drip, "and it helped. Moegi was allowed to come in her wheelchair yesterday now that most of her face is healed." Konohamaru looked down at his hands, "Ne, will she... will her face ever..."

Sakura bit the inside of her cheek, "When the scar tissue heals a little more, Shizune-san will be able to see what options Moegi will have. The damage from the explosive tag caused severe burns on that side of her face,"

"She made them take down the mirrors in her room." he said quietly, his eyes fixed on the threads of the white sheets across his legs, "She cried a little when she was here. Udon came by with fresh satonishki cherries and she wouldn't let him come into her room."

Sakura wouldn't tell Konohamaru, but it was unlikely Moegi would ever fully recover from the scarring. Her chakra control wasn't as good as Tsunade-sama, and it wouldn't be likely she could keep up a youthful appearance using only chakra. There would be things the medics could do to help her, but it would be a long and painful process for minimal results. She checked the painkiller Konohamaru had been given and adjusted the dose slightly, noticing the way he winced when his upper body twisted slightly.

"When I'm allowed out of here, I'm going to find who did this," Konohamaru said, his jaw hard and eyes bright in a way that reminded her so much of Naruto.

"Well that won't be for a while, but I can promise you that Tsunade-sama is going everything she can to find out who did this and why. They're going to pay for their crimes, Konohamaru, I promise,"

She didn't know how else to reassure him. The nurses had told her his first concern when he had finally woken up after surgery had been the welfare of his teammates. Udon, Genma and Anko had, at that point, all been discharged with weekly checkup requirements. Moegi had regained consciousness a few days before, but the nurses had been forced to sedate her when she had discovered the extend of her physical injuries. Konohamaru had tried to fight his way out of the bed until the nurses had sedated him as well. It had taken him several days to be able to speak again, and even now Sakura could hear a rasp beginning to develop in his words.

"I need to continue my rounds, but ring for the nurses if you need anything,"

She gently tucked the corners of the blanket around him again and reclined the bed slightly before she left. There was no sound from Moegi's room across the hall, and the door was firmly closed with a "No Visitors" sign posted in large block letters on the door. She knew there were people who talked down to kunoichi who cared about their looks, but Sakura understood. Having physical reminders of the dark side of their job could be painful. She made her way back towards the nurses station, slipping all of her completed files into the wire basket.

"Hyuuga Hinata is waiting for you in room four, Haruno-san,"

Sakura frowned as she took Hinata's file into her hands, flicking through to try and find any notes that would give her an inkling of what Hinata would have come for. She was temporarily not taking part in any active mission, instead taking time to fulfill her duties as the Hyuuga heiress. Her father had stepped down from his duties when she had come of age, and Hinata had been changing the clan from the ground up, starting with the horrific treatment of the branch families. Most of her time outside of Konoha recently had been mending bridges with clans outside the village that the Hyuuga's had past animosity with.

"Hinata?"

She was wearing a lavender yukata with an aubergine obi, her long hair pulled away from her face in an intricate black clasp. She smiled when Sakura closed the door behind her.

"Good morning, Sakura-chan; I hope it wasn't too much of a bother for me to request you personally. I would like to keep this as discreet as possible,"

Sakura nodded and flicked the file open again. Hinata had passed her physical after her village return with flying colours, so it was unlikely to be related to that. Hinata's cheeks were stained red as she cleared her throat and twiddled her fingers anxiously.

"I, ah, I was wondering if perhaps we could rediscuss options for... birth control?"

Sakura was a well trained medic, and knew even a slight tick of her facial expression could make Hinata feel more uncomfortable than she clearly already was. Instead, she smiled reassuringly as she thumbed through the file until she found the last mention of it; almost a full year ago. For Hinata to be almost twenty one years old, and a formerly active kunoichi, it was strange that she hadn't already pursued it.

"Absolutely, Hinata; was there any particular type you had a preference for? Most kunoichi prefer not to take the pill, as it can interfere with missions to be repeatedly needing to remember a medication. If you wanted something more long lasting, Shizune-san works with a medic who does simple chakra ties using your own chakra to prevent any ovulation. Whatever you would feel more comfortable with. Otherwise there are a few other options we can discuss,"

The nervous tension in Hinata's shoulders sagged away when it was clear to her that Sakura wasn't going to ask any prying questions. Sakura knew Hinata and Naruto had been dancing around each other for a long time now; especially since Naruto had managed to take the hint that she was interested. The disapproval of the Hyuuga clan had been a major reason they hadn't already made anything official; though Naruto was determined to, in his own words, "make those stuffed old men see that he was worth Hinata's time". Sakura inked something onto her small notepad and tore the paper off, handing it over to Hinata.

"This is what I use, personally. It's effective, and I've found the only side effect is some nausea when you first begin to use it. Everyone is different, so I would recommend trying it for your first cycle and coming back to see me afterwards; if it doesn't work for you, we will figure something else out."

"Thank you, Sakura-chan," Hinata bowed her head as she pushed the paper into her pocket, the pink of her cheeks beginning to fade. Sakura could see a question lingering on Hinata's lips, so she busied herself by looking through the chart one more time to give Hinata a chance to find her courage.

"Sakura-chan... when should I, uh, I mean to say..."

Sakura sat down beside her, not letting Hinata drop her eyes to the floor and shy away, "Hinata, what you do with your body is entirely up to you. Be it now, a year from now, or any number of years away. Naruto has nothing but respect for you and what you want."

Hinata's cheeks colored again, but this time they were accompanied by a shy smile. She bowed respectfully as she left, another soft thanks on her lips. Sakura left the exam room with warmth in her heart, she had watched the two of them make heart eyes at one another for so long, it was nice to know that they had both finally found one another. She thought of when Tsunade had prescribed her birth control- pushing a vial of green liquid into her palm before she was due to leave for a mission. There was no rules written in stone about kunoichi requiring some form of birth control, but Sakura knew that pregnancy was one of the most common reasons kunoichi chose to leave their duties. Sakura had albeit awkwardly- tried to explain to her mentor that she wasn't likely to get pregnant any time soon, but Tsunade had wiggled the bottle at her.

"I won't force you to take it, but you'll thank me if you do."

Sakura had agreed, mostly because she had seen both Ino and TenTen with similar vials and figured it couldn't hurt to be in control of her body for missions. She had spent most of the Team Kakashi mission vomiting into bushes; while Naruto looked on in confusion. Kakashi, to her absolute embarrassment, seemed to know why she was suddenly so nauseous, and had provided her with various crackers. When the nausea finally subsided, she had to agree with Tsunade. Having control of her cycle was helpful for a number of reasons, and her skin had never looked better. Even Sai had complimented her, though she wasn't always sure if he was being honest.

When she and Neji had finally... Sakura felt her face heat up as she remembered. Needless to say... it had been useful on more than one occasion.

She shook her head slightly and readjusted her hair, glancing at the clock with a content smile. Lunch time. The sounds her stomach was making was starting to disturb some of her patients. On cue, a deep rumble of rage gurgled within her, echoing in the empty corridor. Sakura made a face. Note to self: eat breakfast. She was debating between the sad, brown apple slices she had pulled from the depths of her refrigerator, or the new food cart that had opened right beside the hospital; when the doors to the hospital burst open and a bloodied genin team stumbled inside.

"We wanted to see if we could catch shuriken out of the air," one of them explained with a sheepish smile, apparently unfazed by the deep gash on his cheek. Sakura sighed heavily. Surely her team hadn't been this bad?

She thought for a moment before she bit her lip.

Maybe she would buy Kakashi dinner.

* * *

"It's been a while, Kakashi,"

Kakashi peered over the top of Icha Icha Paradise and smiled, "Jiraiya, good to see you again. You're looking hungover,"

Jiraiya flopped down beside him under the shade of the tree and reclined against the thick trunk, arms behind his head, "Tsunade sure knows how to put away sake. Snores like a pig when she does though."

Kakashi smiled under his mask and flicked the page. Jiraiya had interrupted him during his favourite part of the book, but he supposed he could allow some casual conversation. The Sannin was gazing up through the foliage, humming pleasantly.

"I assume Tsunade-sama filled you in on the situation?"

"Oh, she certainly did. How is being village bound treating you?"

Kakashi held up the book, "I don't suppose you've made another one of these?"

Jiraiya laughed as he reached into the folds of his vest, the bright yellow of a book cover catching the light. Kakashi's eyes widened. There was no way-

"Finished it just before I got Tsunade's message. Haven't had a chance to get it out in proper print yet, but you gave such an excellent review of the last one, I thought you might enjoy it,"

He was already thinking of ways to end the conversation and take the novel back to his apartment. His fingers itched with desire to rip it from Jiraiya's hands, but he tried to play it cool.

"But-"

Kakashi let out the breath he was holding when Jiraiya tilted it back and slipped it away, "There's something we need to discuss first. I assume you know why Tsunade asked me to come back to the village?"

"You're worried about the attempts for my Sharingan; and for Sakura."

His desire for the book had dissipated. He had been trying to ignore the looming threat over his head, but he knew until everything was resolved he wouldn't be able to let his mind fully rest. Jiraiya nodded and stretched his legs out in front of him. He began telling Kakashi everything he had overheard in Earth country; the whispers of her supposed desires for war, the rumors about his eye and how much information about Konoha was leaking out beyond the village walls. Tsunade had been right to assume there was a traitor in the village, it was now as close to confirmed as it could be without them having the traitor in their hands.

"Does Tsunade suspect anyone?"

Jiraiya stretched his arms above his head and brought his fist down to linger over one eye, giving Kakashi a pointed look. Danzo. Most anyone in the village knew the man was sneaky and underhanded, and that there had been animosity between him and the Third. Kakashi, obviously, had been a catalyst for his anger when he had revealed Danzo's plan to assassinate the Hokage. The Sandaime had been too trusting, too easy to forgiveness. Kakashi wouldn't find it difficult to believe Danzo was trying to overthrow Tsunade. And if Kakashi was a target, or he died during the attempt to take his sharingan, Danzo would more than likely be the next candidate for Hokage. Naruto was becoming more of a candidate as the days passed, but he knew there would be hesitation at choosing someone so young for the position.

"Proof?" Kakashi asked casually. He was already sure there was none. Danzo would have learned his lesson by now, he would have his head low to the ground. Jiraiya confirmed his suspicions.

"...are we sure Orochimaru is dead? He always had an eye for the Sharingan."

Kakashi shook his head, "Sasuke killed him before finding Itachi; when Orochimaru tried to take his body. Stupid mistake, had he worked alongside Aasuke he might have been granted some kind of deal with the village in exchange for some of his work."

He knew that the bonds of the Sannin were similar to those of his own team. Deep roots that held strong, even as branches began to wither and die. Orochimaru would have paid dearly for his multitude of crimes, but had he pledged himself to the welfare of Konoha there may have been hope for him. Danzo was, in Kakashi's mind, the most likely culprit.

"The shinobi I was eavesdropping on mentioned the Hokage's apprentice more than once. Seems like Sakura has gotten herself quite a reputation, and not just in Fire Country. I think if anyone is going to try and take that eye, they're going to try and take her with it. Though I don't know if they're aware she could break them in half with her little finger. Tsunade did a good job with that one."

Kakashi was inclined to agree. Now that the attacker knew his Sharingan was in decent condition, it would make it even more of a necessity to have a medic who could implant it properly. Jiraiya poked Kakashi's forehead.

"Don't frown, you'll give yourself wrinkles. I know you don't like this situation, Kakashi, but the best thing you can do right now is to let Tsunade do her job. This isn't anything Konoha hasn't had to deal with before, and there isn't a shortage of people around to keep an eye on you. Take some well earned time off. But first, maybe a little something to keep you on your toes. A favourite game of Minato's, back in the day. You ever hear that idea that working hard for something makes you appreciate it more?"

Kakashi cocked an eyebrow as Jiraiya pulled the newest Icha Icha from his vest again, this time waving it into the air and calling out across the field. Gai, who had been training with Lee, looked towards them and turned a deep beet red.

"Aa, Jiraiya-sama, Lee and I do not take part in that material."

Jiraiya tossed it high into the air, sending the book arcing towards them. Kakashi looked on in horror as it landed in Gai's hands.

"Kakashi would do anything to get his hands on that book, Gai. Maybe it's time for a challenge, ne?"

A bright spark of light lit up in Gai's eyes and he punched the air, the precious book disappearing...somewhere into his spandex suit.

"YOSH! Kakashi-san, I challenge you to a contest of youth and strength! Should you prevail, I will provide you with your book! Should I win- we continue to be eternal rivals!"

Kakashi was going to murder Jiraiya in his sleep.

* * *

If this door didn't open in exactly two seconds, Tsunade was going to kick it down. She knocked again, the heavy wood of the door cracking under her fists.

"I know you're in there, Danzo! Are you ignoring the demands of your Hokage?"

The door creaked open.

"My most sincere apologies, Hokage-sama. I'm a lot older than I used to be,"

Tsunade pushed the door open far enough to let herself in, brushing by Danzo without acknowledging him. She and Jiraiya had gotten progressively more drunk as the night had worn on, their theories about the village becoming more ridiculous with each cup of sake. But Danzo had been in the forefront of her mind the entire time. She may not be able to prove it, but if he thought she was on to him, maybe it would force something incriminating to come to light.

Danzo's home was small and shrouded in darkness. Unlike others she had been in, nothing personal adorned the walls or the mantle. No patterned curtains or decorative pillows; not even a single picture to be seen. A still steaming mug of tea was on the windowsill; light and sweet.

"Do you have anything you wish to confess to me, Danzo?"

She could feel his presence behind her, but she didn't turn to face him. He was a proud man, to know she felt him so little of a threat that she was willing to keep her back to him would rattle his emotions. She heard the wet smack of Danzo sucking his teeth and she smirked.

"Given that I was unable to locate the Sharingan scrolls, Hokage-sama... is there anything _you_ wish to confess?"

Tsunade smoothed her fingers over the windowsill, grey dust bunching along her fingertips. She smeared it around and sighed before she wiped it on her haori.

"We both know I had nothing to do with those missing scrolls, Danzo. Whatever game you're trying ti play by pitting the other shinobi villages against me, it won't work. You have had many occasions to be considered Hokage and you are always overlooked. You have no place to oversee the best interest in this village; and getting rid of me won't bring you anything you need. Tell me though," she let her eyes linger over his bandaged face and arms. She wasn't sure she believed the epic tale of how Danzo had sacrificed his vision and mobility for a mission, but there had never been an opportunity to dispute it, "What do you plan to do with Kakashi Hatake's Sharingan?"

Danzo's mouth curled up into a snarl, "Watch your tongue, Tsunade. I have no use for the Sharingan of a weak willed ninja,"

He was good, though she had expected as much. Danzo hadn't been able to run ROOT without being an excellent manipulator. Tsunade made her way towards him, not letting the difference in height deter her from keeping eye contact.

"Whatever your plan is, Danzo... it would be in your best interest to remember that I am not the Sandaime, and I am not soft hearted. If I find even a sliver of proof that you are behind what is happening in this village, I will make sure you understand why a medic nin should be feared."

He was silent as she crossed the room and made her way out the door, turning back to him and bowing politely.

"Enjoy your day, Danzo-san,"

She knew it was reckless to behave this way, but she also knew Danzo had been given too much freedom under the reign of the Sandaime. He had become cocky, and his desire for power had grown unhindered for too long. If he was behind what had been happening, he could be tried for treason and an attempt to instigate war. If he wasn't... he had done enough to deserve it anyway.

Many hours later, the mid afternoon sun was beating down on the back of her neck as she strolled through the main streets of Konoha. Her paperwork was in Shizune's competent hands; Jiraiya was keeping an eye on Kakashi; Sakura was back to her position at the hospital; the jounin team on that ridiculous escort mission that was costing her far more than she was being paid were due back any day now; and some of the oppressive weight was now lifted from her shoulders. No one from her village would come to any harm, let alone from one of their own. Maybe she would stop in for a round of cards. She was feeling lucky.

"Hokage-sama!"

Tsunade sighed heavily and plastered a smile on her face as she turned around. She recognized that voice. That voice haunted her dreams at night, screaming about village population, budgets and inappropriately shaped hedges growing along the Konoha boundary.

"Homura-san. How may I help you?"

His mouth was set in a thin line, though that wasn't unusual. He cast a glance around them, and when seemingly satisfied, moved closer.

"Hokage-sama, I am incredibly sorry to inform you..." he paused and cleared his throat, "Perhaps we should go elsewhere?"

Tsunade huffed quietly. If this was about the damn hedges again, she was going to throw a chair. The only looked vaguely phallic if you squinted at them from a specific angle. "I'm attending an important meeting, Homura-san. I'm sure here is as good a place as any."

She was feeling lucky for once in her life. Gambling counted as an important meeting. Homura pressed his fingers to his lips and sighed.

"Shimura Danzo is dead."


	13. Chapter 13

Shizune's "don't over do it" warning had left the building as soon as the newest Icha Icha had fallen into Gai's hands. Kakashi forced more chakra into his feet as he leapt across three rooftops at once, gaining ground on Gai as the man continued to dodge each kunai being thrown at him. The terms of the challenge had been simple enough- they would run three laps around the village before scaling the cliff face of the Hokage monument. Lee was waiting for them at the makeshift finish line, probably beet red and holding the Icha Icha novel at the end of a long stick. Kakashi had been surprised the challange was seemingly so easy, but Gai had apparently taken his last loss more seriously than Kakashi thought; he was faster than before. Gai threw a shuriken behind his back and Kakashi dodged it, lunging forward to close the gap between them and throwing them both off the roof. The ground was coming up fast, so Kakashi launched himself off the walls of the homes before rocketing into the air, hearing the sound of Gai following close after him. Gai had sent them both almost flying into a tree earlier, so a little foul play on Kakashi's part wouldn't go astray.

The three laps around the village had been hard enough, especially considering he hadn't done any training in almost two weeks now. But now, dodging villagers and throwing himself of rooftops was going to make him regret waking up tomorrow. He could see the mountain looming ahead of him, a speck of green at the top peering down. He got a running start before throwing himself into the air, feeling himself begin to fall as he watched the dirt of the mountain come rushing towards him. He dug two kunai into the face of the cliff and began climbing. He could hear Gai just behind him, and his shirt and mask were soaked with sweat from the heat of the day. He was going to get that book, dammit. And then he was going to board up every single peep hole in the women's onsen. He shoved one kunai into the Sandaime's right nostril, heaving his body up before finally finding footing. Gai was hanging off Minato-sensei's chin, using the weight of his body to swing himself higher and higher.

"For our eternal rivalry!" Gai hollered, throwing himself into the air and barely getting his fingertips to grab the shelf of rock that was the Yondaime's eyebrow. Kakashi could see the top of the mountain; Lee's wide eyes and the bright cover of Icha Icha. He finally made it over the crest and dragged himself towards Lee, reaching his feet just as the weight of Gai's body landed on his back. H grunted, but didn't try and move him off.

Was he getting old?

Gai's weight rolled off him and he looked up to see two wide grins staring down at him.

"Kakashi-san, you have bested me once again," Gai bowed and offered the bright yellow book out to Kakashi, who cradled it like a newborn child. His ribs ached, his lungs were burning, and he was pretty sure he had stubbed his big toe, given that it was now a throbbing, bloody mess. But none of that mattered. Kakashi pressed the book to his cheek and tried to suppress a squeal. Gai rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly before offering Kakashi a thumbs up.

"As always, it was an honor being your rival!"

"We can be rivals forever, Gai. It's okay."

He was definitely wheezing. He'd have to dodge Shizune's well meaning check in at his apartment today, or she would probably make him suffer for not listening to her. Gai and Lee were both crying tears of joy, and Kakashi bent over and forced himself to take several deep breaths. He needed to stop eating those chocolate pastries. The smooth cover of the book in his hands was keeping him together. All he needed to do was make it back to his apartment, and he could close himself off from the world.

* * *

Someone was in his apartment.

He was only at the mouth of the stairs, but he could hear someone shuffling around within. His door was cracked ever so slightly, and he only sometimes forgot to lock it. He heard the gruff sound of Pakkun talking, and he relaxed. If the ninken were there, whoever was inside couldn't be doing too much damage. He felt a flicker of chakra and couldn't help but smile to himself. Sakura was inside. What she was doing, he had no clue, but he had wanted to find her thank her for this morning. It was unfortunate, and fairly awkward to wake up with your former student straddling you as you screamed in unbridled terror; but they had been returning with a vengeance lately, and waking up to her had been better than waking up in a puddle of his own sweat.

He looked mournfully down at the book in his hand, but caught the scent of something wafting in the air. Something spicy and warm; a touch of heat and a pinch of zest. Was Sakura cooking for him? His mouth was watering as he pushed his door open, seeing the ears of his ninken perk as he entered the kitchen. Sakura had her back to him and a disconcertingly large knife in her hand. She was wearing an apron with dancing ramen bowls on it.

"Oh, Kakashi! I was going to wait outside for you but the ninken could smell the sausages so they let me in,"

His spoiled dogs looked up from their bowls, no tinge of regret in their eyes as they continued inhaling the sausages Sakura had laid out for them. Several reusable grocery bags were on his counter, their contents spilling out. Kakashi began poking through the bags curiously; whatever she was cooking was the best thing he had smelled in months.

"Not that I mind, Sakura... but what is the occasion?"

Sakura turned back the heat on the burner and wiped her hands on the apron, "I saw four genin teams at the hospital today... I felt like I should make you dinner. Please, _please_ tell me we weren't that bad."

Kakashi had overheard from Shizune some of the things genin teams came into the hospital with. A shift exclusively on the genin ward was one of Tsunade's favorite punishments. He rubbed his chin, pretending to think hard.

"Ahh, I'm sure the three of you were much worse, actually."

He caught the large chunk of ginger that Sakura tossed at his head and set it on the counter beside the bags. He saw her look him up and down, apparently only just noticing the leaves in his hair; the dirt on his clothes, and the dried blood flaking off his toe and onto the floor. He smiled and wiggled his prize in the air before he explained the situation with Jiraiya and Gai. Sakura was gripping a wooden spoon in her hand and for a brief moment he wondered if he should be worried about her hitting him with it. Instead, she gave him a look he usually only saw her give Naruto and turned back to her meal.

"Just for that, I'm not healing you. All that for a book, ne? Better be worth it, I personally thought Tactics was a little uninspired. Not terrible by any means, but after he made everyone wait three years I don't know why he settled with the plot about the two lovers driven apart by the Feudal Lord. I like the second one," Sakura offered as she busied herself in his kitchen, "Jiraiya really got into the plot for it; I cried when Hakaku had to leave. Much better than Paradise and Tactics put together."

Kakashi was dumbstruck by her words, his mouth falling open as his eye widened in shock. Sakura laughed, "What, Kakashi? I know I always told you off for reading them in public, but Ino bought them for me when I turned eighteen and they're really not that bad. _Still_ not appropriate to be read in public, but definitely not as bad as I had anticipated."

Kakashi shook his head slowly, bringing one hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose through his mask. This was unacceptable. There was no way he could accept this.

"Sakura... how could you possibly have liked Icha Icha Violence more than Paradise?"

She was wrong. He loved all the novels as deeply as he could, but there was something so heavy about Paradise. Two people falling in love, but not knowing how hard and painful it can be. New love opening their eyes to the warmth of companionship, the intense lust that built between them during their hard times together. Sakura waved the spoon in her hand at him and the ninken dived to collect the small droplets of liquid that splattered on the floor.

"Ne, Paradise was good, but Violence is so... raw with emotion. Hakaku and Tamami are so in love and their lives keep pulling them in different directions! When Hakaku leaves to go on his mission and they've just had that fight that lasted so long, and they both want to forgive the other but they're just too proud. Oh, I was crying while I read it, Jiraiya made me feel like- like-"

"Like someone you loved was leaving you," Kakashi finished for her. He knew the exact scene she was talking about, and not because of the intense love making scene that came just before it that stole his breath every time he read it.

 _Tamami's eyes glazed over with tears, but she would always be too proud to let them spill over and onto her cheeks. Instead, they clung to her thick lashes and glimmered in the dim light. Hakaku loved her, but he never had the right words to tell her just how much. He wanted to tell her she was beautiful, wrapped only in the silk sheets they had just been tangled in together; her lips red from his own mouth, her hair just as wild as she was._

" _I'll return."_

 _The word 'home' lingered on his lips, but he couldn't speak it. Did she think of this as their home, just as he did? Would he ever be able to tell her that wherever she was felt like home to him? Tamami raised her chin at him, a single tear slipping down her face and falling into the well of her collarbone. His breath caught in his throat at her finally allowing herself to cry in front of him; the moment between them more vulnerable than when they had lay naked in front of each other. He wanted to kiss her there, but he refrained. They had already complicated this more by falling into bed again, unable to resist each other._

" _Goodbye, Hakaku,"_

 _Their I love yous would remain unsaid._

Sakura was slicing vegetables again, dropping the occasional chunk down for the eager ninken. She had pulled her hair back into a high ponytail, most likely to avoid another incident like the time Naruto had fished a thin pink hair from the depth of his meal.

"Jiraiya was just testing the waters with Paradise; the plot wasn't as strong, even though he had such amazing characters. And I feel like he fell back into an easy plot with Tactics; the Feudal Lord wanting to take the man's wife away; the pregnancy being revealed as they were kidnapping her. It isn't bad by any means, but it lacked the same depths as Violence."

Kakashi watched as she continued adding ingredients to the pan, the warm scent rising into the air and making his ninken whine. On cue, Kakashi's stomach growled low and deep and Sakura laughed as she stood on hr tiptoes to get plates from his cupboards. The cabinet door screeched as it was opened, and Kakashi made a mental note to fix it. And the sink. And probably the weird clunking noise his refrigerator made as well. Maybe Shizune and Genma had the right idea in wanting to renovate. The plate Sakura slid in front of him was piled high with chicken and soba noodles, all glistening with a ginger and soy glaze. He felt a bump on his leg and looked down to find four sets of wide eyes gazing up at him. Sakura beat him to the punch, clapping her hands and shooing them away.

"I just fed the four of you, and good sausages no less! You'll end up like Mr. Wiggles."

That seemed to scare them into their retreat. Kakashi watched Sakura slip into the seat across from him and he looked her over, making no moves to begin his meal. Sakura seemed to sense his gaze and looked up, eyes wide with innocence.

"Yes?"

"Sakura... are you lonely?"

He didn't mind her sudden reoccuring presence, by any means. But it seemed in the weeks since their failed mission, the dynamic of their relationship had changed dramatically on both sides. He no longer saw her as his student, nor the young girl he had known for so long. But he could see a difference in the way she looked at him, and the comfort she seemed to have around him. She was turning pink under his gaze, not quite the same shocking shade as her hair, but bright enough that he felt almost sorry for asking. He worried her lip and poked some vegetables around on her plate, one shoulder rising and falling in a gesture that didn't answer his question.

"Sometimes, I suppose. I mean, can you ever really be lonely in Konoha? But it feels like so much has happened, and so many things are changing. Shikamaru is a sensei; Naruto is training with Tsunade-shishou to be considered a Hokage candidate. Ino is thinking about taking a two year posting to Suna to work as a medical aide. I don't _need_ boyfriend... but sometimes it's nice to have someone to come home to that isn't your roommate stealing your shoes out of your closet."

It wasn't necessarily a sentiment he could share. He had never gotten to the point in a relationship where he had welcomed his girlfriends into his home so readily; but he thought of the times he had come home to darkness and silence. How he had rolled over at night to the cold, empty side of his bed and momentarily wondered what it would be like to have the warmth of skin under his fingertips instead. He pulled his mask down around his neck and brought the steaming slice of chicken to his mouth. He had never asked her why she had stopped seeing Neji, though he knew the never ending Konoha rumor mill was sure Sasuke had been involved. He didn't agree, personally. Though Sasuke had, in the short time he had been back in the village, worked his way back into the group, there had been no spark of romance that he had been aware of. And Sakura didn't strike him as the type to wander. There was no evidence of bad blood between her and the Hyuuga, so it must have been an amicable break.

"I'm sure you wouldn't have trouble finding someone, Sakura,"

She blushed again as she continued pushing the food around on her plate, "I'm too picky, Ino says. I just want someone who doesn't think me being a kunoichi is stupid, knows I need to work at the hospital, won't complain if I go on long missions; isn't a slob, isn't joined at the hip with their mother, doesn't want me to be a housewife, and won't expect me to take care of them. Is that too much to ask?"

They seemed like fairly reasonable requests, as far as he could tell. Though it certainly narrowed down her selection to mostly other shinobi, which introduced a much larger selection of problems. He thought of the chakra stone he had given her, and what he had originally intended on doing with it. He would need to pull some strings, but maybe he could give her something slightly better than a boyfriend.

In his opinion.

Sakura abruptly changed the subject as the pink began to faded from her face, returning to telling him about the various genin teams she had seen today. He listened as he ate, his gaze not once lingering to the Icha Icha book that rested beside his hand. He would save it for later, and stay up all night if he had. He had arranged to meet with Genma and Iruka tomorrow morning, but he was sure they would wait for him. They should have known him long enough to know when he said eight, he meant no earlier than eleven.

* * *

Danzo's body was laid out on the table, a bright light shining down on him and washing his skin to an ashen grey. There were no outward signs of trauma, but that didn't rule out some kind of poisoning. Tsunade would admit she was relieved, though it was overshadowed largely by her suspicion. She looked to the two remaining elders, her eyes narrowed.

"You found him like this?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama. When he didn't arrive for our designated meeting, we were concerned and went to his house. It looked empty, but when I looked in the window I saw him on the floor. Koharu went for a medic, while I broke in through the window. There was no sign of forced entry or any enemy ninja. He was just... gone." Homaru's eyes were lingering on Danzo's body, disbelief shining through his usually stoic demeanour, "The three of us haven't had a meeting in several days. Who knows how long he had been there?"

Tsunade turned Danzo's bare wrist over in her hand, checking the color of his veins for any obvious poisons forced into his blood, "No more than three hours. I saw him this morning to discuss the missing sharingan scrolls from your archives. He was fine when I left him. We have a window for time of death, but the autopsy will tell us more."

Shizune had Danzo's file open on the table, worrying at her lip as she ran her fingers down the pages and muttered to herself.

"Tsunade-sama, Danzo-san had his last routine physical just a month ago. It was conducted by me, and I found no evidence of organ failure, potential heart disease, or any mental fatigue. His chakra was average for his age, and he assured me that his facial and body injuries were tended to by a medic outside of Konoha."

That piqued her interest. There were few members of the village who were permitted to leave Konoha to see medical treatment, and with herself and Sakura so easily accessed now, she knew of nobody who sought other treatments. Tsunade stared down at the man she had threatened barely hours ago, her brow furrowed. He was old, she had to admit. Many capable shinobi found themselves taken down by age; but Shizune should have found some indicator during his last exam. From the corner of her eye, she could see the two elders having a whispered conversation. It was obviously getting heated, and Tsunade cleared her throat.

"Anything the two of you would like to share with me?"

They exchanged a glance, and said nothing until Tsunade arched her eyebrow and began to tap her foot impatiently.

"Hokage-sama... We located the missing sharingan scrolls. Though there was no obvious reason to suspect foul play in Danzo's death, I checked the rest of the house before the medic arrived. The scrolls were located in an opened loose floorboard in Danzo's bedroom. I'm sure that he simply forgot he had them-"

Tsunade held up her hand, already having heard enough. "That's enough. Those scrolls were not to be taken from the archives, as was ruled by the fire Daimyo. Furthermore, Danzo had the audacity to accuse me and my medics of their theft. He may be dead... but those scrolls were in his possession. And he will receive the appropriate demerit to his character before his burial. As a lifelong villager of Konoha, I will allow his body to buried within the cemetery; but he will not be buried a hero."

The elders were going to argue. She could see it coming.

"Hokage-sama, I must protest! This incident was isolated, and we have no way of knowing what Danzo-san's intentions were. You have no proof that he was nothing more than a good man!"

Shizune scream ricocheted off the walls of the morgue, and Tsunade's gut rolled as she caught sight of what had caused her apprentice such a visceral reaction. Shizune had begun removing Danzo of his clothing, staring with his bandages. An arm of sightless sharingan stared up at her; Danzo's eye uncovered and the sharingan implanted in the socket was weeping blood. A face was protruding out of his arm, the twisted image of her grandfather gazing out at her. She could see the jagged seam where his shoulder met his body, evidence of an ill performed medical technique. Tsunade forced her panic down and kept her face an emotionless mask.

"...I would say that is enough proof... wouldn't you?"

She was going to have to take back that part about him being buried in the Konoha cemetery. He would be lucky if she didn't throw his corpse into the forest to feed the wildlife at this point. The Elders behind her had gasped, but were now blessedly silent. Tsunade hands trembled as she reached for Danzo's cold arm, turning it in her hands to see the multitude of Sharingan. Who had these belonged to? How long had he had them? How had nobody ever known? Rage towards the Sandaime bubbled in her chest again. This man was a monster, and he had been lurking in Konoha for far too long. She thought of how Danzo had lingered over Sasuke Uchiha's body, the hunger etched onto his face. She wondered what would have happened had she not kept the corpse under the close watch of an ANBU squad; found her thoughts lingering on the massacre of the Uchiha clan. How many, if any, of those Sharingan were now staring up at her?

It was hard to think of anyone else who would have been targeting Kakashi. He may not have truly been the last to wield the Sharingan, but he was the last person Danzo would have been able to get his hands on to complete the arm.

"Koharu and Homura, you may both return to your daily duties. This incident is not to be spoken of; should it get out among the public, I will hold the both of you personally responsible."

"Hokage-sama, I must object-"

"Get out."

Tsunade was done taking orders from people who would do nothing but undermine her. Too long she had sat silent under the critical gaze from the pedestals they felt they sat upon. But now here she was, staring down into the empty eyes of who knows how many Uchiha. She could hear the elders scampering out of the room and she caught the inside of her cheek between her teeth, biting down until she could taste copper painting her tongue. What was she supposed to do in this situation?

"Shizune... get Jiraiya. Get me... anyone who can tell me what the hell is going on here. Then I want you to start testing these eyes against every Uchiha DNA sample we have in the lab. I want to know who these belonged to and how the hell Danzo got his hands on them. I..."

She looked at the face protruding from Danzo's arm and bile surged into the back of her throat. The only person she knew who would do such a horrific thing with her grandfather's cells was Orochimaru, and obviously to try and secure the Wood Release.

"I need you to be fast and discreet, Shizune. Go."

She had wanted answers about what was happening in her village, and now here they were. Seemingly wrapped up in a neat package and set out in front of her. Danzo had always wanted control of Konoha, and Tsunade had done her best at stopping him on every occasion. He obviously had a desire for the Sharingan, and he would have known most of the inner workings of the village. He had motive, means and opportunity. And now he was dead. All she had to do was mend bridges with Iwagakure to dispel any of the lingering rumors, and all of her issues would be handled.

So why did all of this feel like it was the beginning of something much worse?

* * *

He needed to get Sakura to stop feeding his ninken. They were getting heavy.

Kakashi blinked to clear the sleep from his eyes and looked down at his chest, expecting to see one of his dogs plopped in the centre. Instead, Sakura was curled up against him on the couch, half of her body slung across his chest, her feet curled up under her. He remembered washing their dinner dishes in his bathroom with her, their conversation moving easily. He remembered the way her eyes had lit up when she caught sight of the cactus she had just given him sitting proudly on his windowsill. The soft drizzle of rain that had been pattering his windows through dinner had turned into an outright downpour, bouncing off his balcony and slamming into the window with excessive force. Sakura had insisted she could leave, that the rain wouldn't bother her. It wasn't until a sharp crack of lightning had streaked across the sky and lit up the village that she took him up on his offer to wait out the storm.

She had perused his bookcase for several minutes before somehow finding the only medical textbook he owned and curled up on his couch. He settled himself into his usual dent and relished the feeling of cracking open the newest Icha Icha. Ten pages in, he hadn't seen Sakura flick a single page of her textbook, and looked up to find her squinting to read his novel from her side of the couch.

"You're a slow reader."

Kakashi slid closer, angling the book so she could see it as well. He had hoped Jiraiya would continue his tradition of not including the more steamy passages until at least a quarter of the way through. He was willing to see Sakura as his equal, as she was. But he wasn't prepared to read porn with her. Kakashi was trying to figure out the best way to shift her away from him without waking her up, his bladder beginning to screech in protest. His neck was stiff from where it had been tipped back on the chair, but it was nothing a hot shower wouldn't fix. He poked Sakura gently in the ribcage, dodging back to avoid the hand that came up to smack him away. With meticulous movements and baited breath, he slowly eased Sakura off his chest and settled her onto his couch, tucking a folded blanket under her head and draping another over her. The rain was even heavier now, a dull roar outside the confines of his apartment. He could hear the growls of thunder, the sheets of lightening brightening the sky as though daylight was breaking.

"Boss, someone's outside the door."

Kakashi frowned as he crossed the room and cracked his door open. Tsunade was framed in the doorway, her hand raised and ready to knock. Her lips were pressed into a thin line; and she was looking at him with wide, soft eyes. Jiraiya was behind her, his usual grin and exuberance dulled.

"Kakashi, I'm sorry to bother you so late. May we come in?"


	14. Chapter 14

"Ah..."

If they were both here, it was something important. Kakashi slipped through the crack of his door, pressing chest to chest with Tsunade for a brief second before he let the door snap shut behind him. Jiraiya cocked an eyebrow, but didn't comment. Kakashi had become used to Tsunade's trademark "I don't have time for this shit" stare, but he offered them a fleeting peace sign.

"I have company, so..."

He had hoped that would diffuse the situation, but it only served to pique their interest. Tsunade pursed her lips.

"Well this is important, so if you would be kind enough to ask them to leave, we will respect your personal privacy. This matter is... delicate."

Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck. He and Sakura hadn't done anything that would be considered wrong, by any means. But it was easily almost midnight, and having the Hokage's apprentice asleep on his couch with Icha Icha in her hands wasn't likely to raise any innocent scenarios in Tsunade's head. In his defence, Tsunade had requested that he and Sakura spend time together. He was still trying to find the best way to explain himself when he heard a sleepy sigh, followed immediately by a shriek and a thud.

"...ouch."

Tsunade tilted her head and frowned at the closed door.

"Sakura?"

There was a long pause.

"...Tsunade-sama?"

Kakashi sighed and pushed his index fingers to the corner of his eyes. Great.

The door clicked open behind him and Sakura- bleary eyed and tousle haired- peeked out into the hall. Jiraiya's wide eyes were enough to signal that Kakashi had been right about the assumptions, but Tsunade remained stoic. Sakura, easily reading the situation, smiled and waved her hands awkwardly as she explained why she was in his apartment at such an hour. Kakashi could see that Jiraiya wasn't completely buying the story, but that wasn't the problem for the moment. Sakura was rubbing her lower back and she scrunched her nose.

"I fell off the couch,"

"We heard."

Tsunade sighed and tapped her heels against the floor of the hallway, arms folding in front of her.

"Sakura, since you're involved in this situation, you can stay. Now, to reiterate.. Hatake. May we come in."

There was no lilt of a question in her voice this time, only the flat tone of a woman with an agenda. Sakura stepped back out of the doorway, mouthing 'what do they want?" around the entering figures. Kakashi raised and lowered his shoulder as he let the door swing shut behind them. The ninken were peeking around the back of the couch as Tsunade made herself at home, crossing one leg over the other and folding her hands in her lap.

"Sit."

The ninken obeyed out of habit, and Kakashi snorted quietly behind his mask as he lounged back into one of the rickety chairs.

"The two of you will be happy to know that we believe we found the person responsible for the original kidnapping; the plot to steal the sharingan, and the attack on the village. And they're already dead."

That was the furthest thing from what he had been expecting. Between Tsunade's sombre mood and Jiraiya's tight shoulders, he had half expected to be handed a death notice. This was good new, it could have been delivered in the Hokage's office tomorrow morning; and yet here Tsunade was, Jiraiya in tow, sitting on his old couch in the middle of the night.

"Someone from the village?"

It wasn't hard to guess. They already knew without doubt there was a spy, but the circumstances leaned towards the mastermind behind the entire ordeal being a village. He knew he had hit the nail on the head when Tsunade's gaze flickered away from his own. She was a great kunoichi, there was no doubt about it. But there was a reason they called her the Legendary Sucker. The Sannin all had their downfalls; Jiraiya was too kind at heart; Orochimaru too prideful. Tsunade had never managed to perfect her poker face.

"As Jiraiya and I had both suspected, it seems as though Danzo was behind all of this. He was found dead in his home earlier today, and we have..." she swallowed, and Jiraiya clenched his jaw, "sufficient evidence to connect him to the crimes. Since he is already dead, however, he will be tried posthumously by the council of Konoha and they will decide what to do with his body, and his legacy."

That was more information than he had anticipated. Tonight was going to be full of surprises. Even though they had already divulged so much information, Kakashi could see something else tucked away under Tsunade's tongue. It was in the way she moved, the fidget of her foot and the tug at the sleeves of her haori. He had also spent enough time with Jiraiya to know that the sturdy line of his shoulders only wavered ever so slightly when he had an invisible weight bearing down on it. Sakura didn't notice the same things he did, she had softened at the news. Kakashi steeled his spine for whatever would come next.

"The cause of death, shishou?"

Tsunade pressed her fingertips together and sighed, "It appears as though he experienced a massive myocardial infarction- a heart attack," she amended off Kakashi's narrowed eyes, "Shizune found no traces of poison in his systems, and there was no notable damage to his chakra. Though his last medical exam showed no underlying issues, or precursors to this issue, for someone his age it isn't impossible for one to occur,"

Not impossible didn't mean it was likely, and Tsunade's unspoken words stuck in the humidity of the air. Jiraiya cleared his throat and scratched the blooming stubble on his chin.

"There's something else you should be aware of, the both of you- but especially you, Kakashi. We'll need to take you both to the hospital. It's not something we can explain. But to begin, we need to know if you were ever told of your part in Uchiha Sasuke's wishes for after his death?"

"His what?"

Sakura was chewing on the inside of her cheek, her anxiety radiating outwards into the room. He made an aborted gesture to grab for her hand, but thought better of it. He simply shook his head. He had no idea that Sasuke had considered him in anything, he hadn't played all that much of a part in his life. Only in his death. Tsunade met Sakura's wandering eyes and took over, her voice soft.

"Obviously, Sasuke had very little physical possessions left in this village at the time of his death. But, as an Uchiha, he was the sole heir to the Uchiha compound and what was left in it, as well as some person items. I believe Sasuke left Naruto several of his prized weapons, and he left Sakura his hitai-ate."

Kakashi hadn't known that. Though he hadn't made much effort to discuss Sasuke with anyone, if he could avoid it.

"As soon as I made it clear to him that I wouldn't be able to heal the extent of the damage his disease had caused, he asked if he was still their heir to the Uchiha compound. Since he defected from Konoha, the compound had been turned over to the Hokage, to do with what they saw fit. Given that he had little left, I returned his family home to him. Once he died, the village elders did request that they be allowed to search the area for anything Sasuke may have kept secret, or hadn't known about. But then they assured me that they would do with it what Sasuke had wished. And he requested that once he died... it be left to you."

What.

"What?"

What use would he have for the compound? It was slowly becoming part of the wilderness around it, rotting into obscurity. Eventually, the only remaining evidence that the Uchiha had once been a major piece of the village would be their names in ink and the stories people would whisper. There was nothing he could do with it, and he was sure any scrolls or notable information would have been taken and locked away by Tsunade. Sasuke had left him an empty shell, but it was the only tie he would have had left to the person he could have been. Tsunade was talking, but the words blended together into a dull murmur he couldn't decipher. He was thinking of Sasuke; how he had watched the light die from his eyes, how his mouth had turned up into the whisper of a smile as blood began to trickle from the cracked corner of his mouth.

"Kakashi!"

He blinked. They were all looking at him in various stages of concern.

"...I just remembered, there's a cat in a tree I need to rescue."

He was sure Tsunade could have stopped him if she really wanted to, but he was falling through the wet air as he leapt from his balcony only seconds later. What had Sasuke been thinking? He launched his way through the village in the darkness; the storm had sent most of the usual nightlife scurrying for cover. He found his way to his destination easily, not bothering with the gate and instead leaping over it, landing wetly onto the ground. The compound was nothing but mud under his feet. He didn't bother trying to use chakra to walk atop it, instead he allowed himself to sink to his ankle in squelching wet dirt that sucked him under with every step. The rain was still pouring around him, wind roaring through the trees as they bent and bowed with the assaults. What would Sasuke possibly have left him this for? He had spent his childhood with nothing but hatred for the empty buildings that mocked him at every turn. Kakashi had watched him from a distance under the Sandaime, seeing Sasuke linger outside the gates for hours before eventually being unable to pass through them. It had only been a year ago that Sasuke had brought himself to step foot back in here. The boulder marking Sasuke's grave was slick with water, the barest hint of moonlight forcing through the clouds gleaming off it and giving the appearance of a blood soaked stone.

"What were you thinking, Sasuke? Why did you leave me this? Was this another one of your strange little games?"

He was used to the silence of the graves he spoke with. But it never hurt to ask. The lightening stretched across the sky, catching the rotting wood of the homes and casting warped shadows onto the ground. It felt wrong to know this was his now. It was another part of the Uchiha he had that he didn't deserve.

"Kakashi?"

He hadn't heard the squelch of mud. She must have put her ninja skills to use. He, on the other hand, was probably going to have to buy new sandals.

"Ahh, Sakura. Fancy seeing you here."

She was holding his pug umbrella in one hand, though it wasn't doing much to shield the back spray of water that caught up in the rain. He wondered idly if Tsunade was going to be annoyed that he had left; there had been more to say, he was sure. But the feeling in his gut was too much to ignore; a sickening churn that threatened to burst up and slash his throat in two. Sakura's hand was in his own, the umbrella dangling at her side. The rain poured down over them for a long time, flattening his hair and plastering his mask to his face. Sakura's hair was dripping thick, wet blobs into the ground.

"Something happened between you and Sasuke... didn't it?"

 _I killed him, Sakura. I slid my kunai up and into him and then I watched yours and Naruto's lives crumble afterwards._

"What makes you say that?" he said, trying to keep his voice nonchalant.

"Tsunade didn't follow you, she just said when I found you we needed to come to the quarantine base at the hospital. And the way you reacted when you heard Sasuke had left you all this... like you don't deserve it..."

"I don't."

"You were the closest person he had to a father, Kakashi."

"Sakura-"

"No."

Her hands were on his jaw, forcing him to look at her. Even with water dripping down her cheeks and her hair smushed to her forehead, her eyes were bright and determined.

"Whatever happened that made you think you somehow let Sasuke down, I know you didn't. There's nothing any of us could have done to stop him, he told us that when he came back. You gave him the tools to not _die_ out there when he left; you taught him the chidori that saved his life against Orochimaru. Even if he had never left Konoha, his genes were a ticking time bomb... there's countless documents from the Uchiha clan about their own getting the same disease. He... he died knowing we loved him, he died in Konoha, and he got to fulfill his lifelong ambition. You never let him down,"

Even under all her steel and power, she was soft at her core. Always seeing the good in people, always rummaging to find the spark of hope. The heavy stone still said nothing, gave him no clues as to what Sasuke had been thinking. Sakura slipped a hand into her pant pocket, removing a faded blue cloth with a tarnished silver plate.

"Do you think I didn't question why he left me this? He left Konoha behind; I annoyed him senseless every day of his life when he was still the person who wore this. At the beginning I almost wondered if he was mocking me with it, like all the progress we made while he was alive had been for show. It took me a long time, but I realized he gave it to me because we were a team back then. We were Team 7, taking on the shinobi world. Even with our differences, we had each others backs."

She tucked the hitai-ate back into her pocket and gestured out to the dilapidated buildings, "Maybe he left you the compound for a similar reason. To show you that you helped him become the person who got to avenge _this._ I don't know how you feel, but I can tell you for damn sure you're not a failure to him, and that isn't what he would have wanted you think."

She didn't say anything else after that; they stood in silence save for the roar of the storm, both staring at the rock that rested in the mud in front of them. He knew Tsunade was waiting for them with more news about Danzo. He also knew that Danzo's death and the supposed end to all his troubles should have brought him some relief. After all.

How much worse could things get?

* * *

"I'm going to have to warn you that what you're about to see is disturbing."

Tsunade didn't know if disturbing quite covered it, but it was the best descriptor she had for the moment. Shizune was hovering just behind her, the heavy medical gown and face covering obscuring her features as she compared her carefully collected samples. Kakashi and Sakura were dried off, wearing standard issue hospital scrubs, masks, and gloves. It was all precautionary measures, the likelihood that Danzo's corpse contained anything that could cause any major harm was almost nonexistent, but Tsunade knew Orochimaru better than most. She had no way of knowing what kind of unnatural experiments had been done to implant not only the sharingan, but the currently unidentified arm. Shizune was doing her best to compare the genetic samples from each sharingan, as well as the arm tissue, to anything they had in their database. Uchiha gene samples were, unfortunately, not easy to come across. Before she had become Hokage, the noble clans had been allowed to shroud themselves in utter secrecy, which had only forced Konoha to have large gaps of knowledge about some of its own people. The Hyuuga clan had been a hard sell, and they hadn't given up access to their genetic makeup and kekkei genkai scrolls easily. But for the Uchiha; Tsunade had been too late. Danzo was covered by a thin, white sheet that had been pulled up to cover his face. Tsunade hesitated as she caught the cotton between her fingertips, but lifted and pulled it down to expose Danzo's eye and shoulder.

Sakura gasped, but Tsunade's primary concern wasn't for her. If Tsunade hadn't had her gaze locked on Kakashi at the exact moment she had removed the covering, she would have missed the way his back stiffened and his hand twitched towards a kunai that wasn't there. He was relaxed in an instant, morphing back into his usual semi aloof self. Sakura was already poring over the body, her gloved fingers tracing the face of Hashirama that pushed forward out of Danzo's shoulder. Tsunade could see the look of horror dawn on her face as her eyes swept over the sharingan.

"Are they... none of them belong to..."

Kakashi paled white as china underneath his mask, and Tsunade was quick to dismiss the thought. Sasuke had surrendered a willing DNA sample on his return to the village, an it had been the first they had tested for.

"No. Shizune is trying to identify them, but we know for a fact none of them belonged to Sasuke."

"How long?" Kakashi asked, his eyes not leaving the multiple empty-eyed sharingan staring up into the bright lights. Shizune looked up from her work and gently tugged down her mask.

"I'm not sure, unfortunately. We don't have many samples to compare to, and there were a number of Uchiha in the village who had activated sharingan when they were mission or killed in action, despite the clan trying their best to always retrieve bodies. From what I've seen so far, there are at least four distinct samples in his arm, and one of them is a pair. The Sharingan implanted into his eye, however, is singular. Likely from someone much younger, based on how relatively undamaged the chakra paths seem to be in the original eye before it was implanted. The others show some age, perhaps from shinobi in their late twenties? The arm itself isn't from an Uchiha; though Tsunade-sama believes this is the work of Orochimaru, so the arm could be from any number of his test subjects."

Tsunade stepped back as Kakashi moved forward to inspect the body, turning the arm over in his hands.

"Why did you need to know if I knew Sasuke had left me the Uchiha compound?"

Jiraiya cleared his throat from the shadows, "Well, firstly because it was Danzo's responsibility to tell you about it. We think if he was doing anything underhanded, he's probably been using the abandoned compound to keep from getting caught, instead of turning it over to you. But on a more legal note; since you were left the Uchiha compound and everything inside of it... it's technically up to you what Konoha does with these Sharingan. They belong to the Uchiha clan, the remains of which was left to you."

If Tsunade had thought Kakashi looked shattered when he stumbled in here, covered in mud and smelling like a wet dog, she had no idea what was to come. He looked as though he had taken a chidori to the gut, but he composed himself faster than she had seen from many shinobi.

"Destroy them."

"Well, if you want to think about it-"

"No. Find out who they belonged to, and destroy them. Bury the remains at the Uchiha monument in the compound; but do not keep them for anything. We have no reason to continue looking into the Sharingan as a kekkei-genkai."

Tsunade watched as Sakura slid her hand onto the curve of Kakashi's bicep, stepping close and lowering her voice.

"Kakashi... if Orochimaru found a way to implant this many working sharingan into someone, how do we know there aren't more people out there with them as well? Tsunade-sama doesn't want to keep them to give them to anyone, she's just thinking of the medical advancements we could make if we could learn more about how the eye operates and replicate that in techniques. There's no telling what we could learn about the kekkei-genkai- about your eye, even- if we were to research them further. If you want her to destroy them, she will. But please don't think she would ever want something as disgusting as to try and implant them into someone. Also... Sasuke couldn't have known about Danzo, but he would know that giving you the Uchiha compound would by default make you the authority on anything that was connected to it, should it occur. Whatever you want to do, it's your call."

Tsunade felt a soft well of pride in her chest as Sakura spoke. The crux of the matter was that these eyes had been stolen from the bodies of good shinobi, and as distasteful as it was to imagine, being able to find out how Orochimaru had done it would be invaluable for a number of medical procedures. The Sharingan was one of the more complex kekkei-genkai, and knowing the intricacies of how it funnelled chakra and easily catalogued information to replicate could change the medical world.

"Sakura is right, Kakashi. I will respect your decision on this as final, as your friend and not your Hokage. When Shizune has finished with her genetic search, I will have them destroyed."

"...one month. Do whatever it is you need to for medical information, but then destroy them. The only people who touch the eyes are you, Shizune, and Sakura."

Tsunade was surprised at his change of heart, but nodded, "I'll keep you updated on who the eyes might have belonged to before they were implanted, it's our highest priority. For now, you're still off the active mission roster, but you're free to come and go amid the Konoha boundaries if required. There will obviously be an investigation into Danzo's past about this situation; interviews; reconnaissance; the works. I would like you both to be part of it."

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

Tsunade took in the two in front of her; the singular dead eye of Kakashi and the wide, worried eyes of her apprentice. Knowing what she knew, Kakashi's reaction to Sasuke's requests had been expected, and it was the only reason she hadn't launched herself out the window after him. She had predicted it, but she had intended to send Jiraiya. Sakura's presence and response had been somewhat unexpected, but pleasant nonetheless. She held a soft spot for Kakashi, it was undeniable. He did what was right, sometimes to the detriment of his own health. It was one thing to kill your own student, it was another entirely to suddenly find out they had left their only clan affiliation to you to oversee. Kakashi was, unfortunately, a man who never could see the good in himself. He only saw the blood he left in his wake.

Maybe Sakura could change that.

* * *

 **KONOHAGAKURE- LAST YEAR- THREE WEEKS BEFORE THE FIRST DAY OF SUMMER**

* * *

Kakashi knocked hard against the door for the second time, deferring to manner rather than pushing it open. He knew there was no lock on the door, Tsunade wouldn't allow it. The chakra seal around the small home had shimmered in the late afternoon light when he had stepped through, but no ANBU had jumped out of the trees to stop him from entering. He could hear the shuffle of feet before the door opened and he met with the dark, heavy lidded eyes of Sasuke.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Sasuke said, "I was distracted."

He looked like hell. His eyes were rimmed with dark circles, his cheekbones sharp and defined as his jaw; the tremor of his hands didn't go unnoticed as Sasuke busied himself with boiling water while he gestured for Kakashi to sit at the table. There was a subtle bend to his back now, as though his body couldn't hold its own weight. His hair was still long, longer than the day he had arrived, though now it was swept up into a high ponytail and secured with a thin pink band adorned with an acrylic sakura blossom. Kakashi had seen those in Sakura's hair many times before, but he thought better than to comment. He didn't have the full details of what happened the last time Sakura had visited, but by Tsunade's sour face and the sudden destruction of an entire training ground- it hadn't gone well.

The teacup rattled as Sasuke set it in front of Kakashi; his own filled with something dark and smelling of moss. Tsunade had given him a number of things to try and combat the pain of the disease eating him from the inside out. Kakashi sipped politely at the tea, a little sweeter than he preferred, but didn't speak. Sasuke had asked him to visit, and he would wait to find out why. He took the time to keep drinking in the decline of Sasuke's health, now more obvious than ever. How they hadn't noticed when he first arrived was a mystery, though he was sure it was related to their joy of his return that had quickly spiralled into the plans to keep him from execution. Sasuke hadn't even revealed his condition to them all until recently, instead working with Tsunade in secret in the hope that she would find a cure for what had been plaguing him for nigh on a year. Tsunade had been absolute in her diagnosis, however.

Sasuke was going to die. Not now, maybe not for a few months. But he wouldn't last to see the winter in Konoha.

"I watched my father's uncle die from this, you know."

"Oh?"

Sasuke was staring out the window, his eyes flickering from tree to tree behind Kakashi's head; no doubt cataloguing the various lookouts that were keeping their eyes on the house.

"Mmm. He was a civilian, I think that's why it's so easy to remember. I knew from a young age that some of my family would go and never return, but I always knew that was the way of shinobi. When I found out he was sick, I tried asking my father why we couldn't just take him to a medic nin, like the ones who healed Itachi after his missions. He told me our clan had great gifts, and this was one of the sacrifices we had to make in order to keep them. He said the same when my grandfather went blind from overusing his sharingan. My mother was tasked with caring for my great uncle, he had no one else left. It dragged on for almost a year; in the end, he didn't know who he was, or where he was. He cried out for hours on end, screaming for someone to help him. To end his misery."

The tea began to taste bitter on his tongue, but he continued to drink. Sasuke was sipping from his own, face screwed up in distaste with every sip.

"You taught me a lot of things, Kakashi,"

"I did?"

For a moment, a flicker of the young pre teen he had taught was alive on Sasuke's face in his smug grin.

"Yes. But one of your most important lessons was the bond between friends. Are we friends, Kakashi?"

"I don't know, Sasuke. Are we?"

Sasuke was looking out the window again, the shake of his hand forcing him to set his teacup down on the table top.

"As soon as I started showing symptoms, I knew what was happening. I had been planning my fight against Itachi for years, and then suddenly I didn't know how much time I would have left. I sold information about Konoha to find him; I sold information about you, and Sakura. Even Naruto. I know I was pardoned, but I just didn't know what I would do with my life if I didn't complete my goals. Everything I did being wasted. So I found him, and he immediately knew what was happening. But he still fought me,"

A grin stretched across Sasuke's face, eerie and wide in contrast with his sunken features and too-red gums.

"And I still won. He called out for me as he was dying, he asked what I planned to do now, since I was just going to die anyway. I told him I was going to come back to Konoha and try to make amends... that I would die among family. I remember the look on his face when I said that; the sadness that radiated of him as though he wasn't the reason I had to sacrifice part of my life."

Kakashi was touched, but he could hear something in the words Sasuke wasn't saying. He rubbed a thumb absently along the rim of his teacup and watched as Sasuke inclined his head to the side, seeming to take all of him in.

"I need to ask you a favor, Kakashi. As a friend. As my family."

There it was. A favor. Kakashi didn't know what he could do for him at this point. Sasuke was dying; and there wasn't anything anyone could do about it, even if he had returned to Konoha the day he had begun to decline. Maybe Sasuke wanted to leave this house; to get out of the civilian district and back to the compound. Maybe he wanted a Team 7 mission; one last hurrah. Whatever it was, Kakashi would try his best.

"And what would you like from me?"

Sasuke leaned in close, close enough for Kakashi to smell the moss and peppermint on his breath and see the papery thin cracks in his skin.

"I want you to kill me."

* * *

:)

Thank you so much for all the amazing reviews that have been posted, they really make me smile every time I see them and I love that you guys take the time to drop a review. This chapter is a little shorter than I usually go, but since there was so much plot word vomit I felt like the next few scenes I had written didn't transition well with the chapter, so I've moved them to the next one.


	15. Chapter 15

"Come here,"

Naruto paused, his hand hovering over the sticky bun he had been eyeing for almost twenty minutes. He could see the ANBU guards from the corner of his eye and he sighed, plastering a smile on his face before he turned and bowed respectfully to the Tsuchikage. The last few days of the summit hadn't gone badly, if he did say so himself. He had gotten everything off the agenda Tsunade-sama had given him; Konoha had made firm allies with Suna and Kiri after the debacle with rumors; and Gaara had steam rolled any notion of a coup against Tsunade. Besides that, there had been a boring conversation about trade routes he had to sit through, trying not to drool as he felt himself slipping in and out of consciousness. The idea of removing the treaty zones had been tentatively brought up by the Tsuchikage, only to be smacked down in an instant by Mei. The entire exchange had left a tension in the room that weighed heavy in the air, but they had manoeuvred through it.

"How can I help you, Tsuchikage-sama?"

The man squinted his eyes as he looked Naruto up and down, the corner of his mouth curling up into a sneer. Naruto kept the smile on his face, knowing that he was already not in good favour with many of the attendants. He could see the tight coil of the ANBU shinobi's shoulders, the way their muscles twitched every time Naruto shifted his weight. To many of the people here, he wasn't a representative of Konoha. He wasn't a shinobi of high standing with the Hokage, nor was he a candidate for the position. He was nothing but the kyuubi vessel to them; something to be disposed of if the moment required it. The Tsuchikage sniffed and gestured down one of the high-ceiling hallways of the Kazekage building.

"We're going to take a walk. Just the two of us."

The man nodded to his guards, who seemed hesitant to leave their posts, but did so anyway. Naruto walked alongside the older man, twiddling his thumbs in front of him. When the Tsuchikage didn't speak, Naruto let his mind wander back to Konoha. He was hoping to be able to go back soon, even though he knew everything would be in good hands it still made him uncomfortable to be so far away when so much was going on. His mission scroll had dedicated three weeks to the Kage Summit, though Tsunade had warned him it could take anywhere between two days and two months. She had told him a story about the Shodai and the never ending Kage Summit when, for just shy of eight weeks, the Kages had squabbled like children over trade routes; the placement of trees around Konoha; country boundaries; and supposedly unfair balances of power. Thankfully, this one didn't seem as though it was going to stretch into the unknown. Most of the Kage had made it clear they wished to leave the suffocating heat of Suna as soon as possible, and were willing to concede a lot of things to be allowed to leave.

"You have a lot of faith in your Hokage."

Naruto side eyed the man, but only nodded. The Tsuchikage pursed his lips.

"I know you disagree with my thoughts about her, but when you've seen as much as I have, you see things as they are. Konohagakure likes to pride itself as a village above the rest, but so many of us see through that. Even since the beginning, Konoha has been willing to get their hands dirty to do what would benefit them. And I can assure you, your Hokage is no different."

"There is no war to start here, Tsuchikage-sama." Naruto said warningly, seeing the flicker of activity from the corner of his eye. It seems their private conversation had more than a few ANBU eavesdroppers, which helped Naruto quell his building temper. The Tsuchikage tipped his head to the side and gave Naruto a raking glace.

"Tell me... do you know what kind of difficult decisions you will have to make if you ever become Hokage?"

Naruto puffed his chest, "I will need to be willing to die for my village. And I will do that if I need to, just like the Kages in the history of Konoha. Just like the Sandaime, or the Yondaime-" he was going to continue, but the Tsuchikage chuckle and clicked his tongue.

"Ah yes... the Yondaime and his great sacrifice for Konoha. _Dying_ for your village is easy. You need to be willing to _kill_ for your village. Stab in the back and rob in the night for your village." The Tsuchikage chuckled as he reached out and poked the whisker marks on Naruto's cheeks, "You need to be willing to lie for your village. For their own protection. I don't suppose the Godaime has ever told you the truth?"

"The...The truth?"

The Tsuchikage leered at him and leaned in, "Mmmm, the truth. Be sure to ask her about that when you get back, won't you?"

Naruto felt anger bubble in his stomach and he clenched his teeth, yelling out after the man as he began to walk away.

"Hey! I don't know why you are so sure Tsunade-sama is trying to do bad stuff, but I know she's not! Whatever people are telling you is a lie! I believe in my Hokage, and so does everyone in that village. That's what makes the Will of Fire strong with us, we are a united village of trust and nothing can break that."

The Tsuchikage sighed and pressed two fingers to his brow. "I'm sure she will find your dedication to her endearing. Do tell her I send my regards. I hope for your sake you learn a little more before you're given the title of Hokage. Being a Kage means you have to make the tough decisions, child. I hope you're ready."

Naruto tilted his chin up and smiled, "Don't worry. I will be."

* * *

His own hoarse snores brought Genma back to consciousness, blinking his bleary eyes before he rolled over to throw an arm around Shizune. He frowned when his hand landed on the comforter, still perfectly tucked up into place on her side. It wasn't uncommon for her to fall into bed after him, and rise well before he did, but it seemed as though she hadn't been home at all throughout the night. He didn't let the thought bother him too much, with everything that was going on, Shizune had been doubling down with her work to try and keep everything as organized as possible. It was still dark outside the window, the storm from the night before now showering the last of its rage down onto the village in trickles. It was the kind of day he would have liked to curl up beside Shizune and press his cold hands into the curve of her back to make her squirm. She was taking his forced time off well, though he could do without the daily checkups she gave him. And the disapproving eyeball when he did anything she felt was too strenuous. Tsunade had told him he could be assessed in three days, and then back on the roster as soon as he was cleared. If for nothing else, he was happy Anko was going to get the chance to be back on active duty. She had taken to skulking around the village, snarling at anyone who got too close or seemed too perky for her liking. She had growled at him like an upset cat when he mentioned it was a beautiful day. The sooner she had something to do with her pent up energy, the better.

He heard the click of a key in the door before the click of Shizune's heels, and the creak of the bedroom door as she carefully pushed it open.

"Oh, did I wake...wake...-" she started, a yawn turning her question into a garbled mess. She looked worse for wear, though he would never tell her that. Her hair was a wreck of frizz, and her clothes were rumpled and creased in several places. He watched her toe off her shoes and tug at her clothes, tossing them haphazardly into the basket by the bathroom door before she slipped into the bed beside him, her head immediately finding the crook of his neck.

"Were you out all night?"

"Mmmm. Hokage business."

That was Shizune code for 'please don't ask, I can't tell you'. It had taken him a long time to accept that Shizune took her duties as the Hokage's assistant seriously, and would never breathe a word of anything she wasn't suppose to. Confidentiality was key to her, and it had been a rocky spot for them to hurdle at the beginnings of their relationship. Instead of pressing the issue, he pressed a kiss to her forehead, her temple, and then her cheek. There was one question she agreed to answer truthfully, no matter the situation.

"Do I need to be worried?"

Shizune opened her tired eyes and sighed heavily, bringing her hand up to stroke along his cheek.

"...I don't know."

That answer, Genma decided later, when he was leaving to meet with Iruka and Kakashi, one of whom he knew wasn't going to grace them with his presence until much later in the day; was much worse than any of the confirmations he had received.

"Shishou? My shift is over, was there anything you wanted me to do before I left?"

Tsunade was elbow deep in a chest cavity, the bright lights of the surgery room illuminating the pink and red fluid covering her forearms. A jounin team had come across missing nin lingering on the very outskirts of the forest that surrounded Konoha, and the ensuing battle had ended with the shinobi on the table taking an explosive tagged kunai to the chest to protect his team. He would survive. Maybe. Tsunade often said that for ninja, sometimes surviving certain injuries was worse than death. He would never take an active mission again, more likely he would be rerouted to the interrogation department, or to archive and files. Tsunade didn't turn her head, but shook her two pigtails.

"Put this up for me, would you? This is taking longer than I expected."

Sakura tugged the thin black band from her wrist and gathered Tsunade's long blonde hair between her fingers, fashioning the ponytail into a messy bun at the base of her neck. From this angle, she could see the cracked open ribcage and shredded muscle and tissue of the shinobi, his organs shiny and wet with blood. She could see the slow, weak pumping of his heart, Tsunade's healing chakra encouraging every movement.

"Will he make it?"

She had seen people come in with worse and survive, but she had seen a lot of things as a medic. Shinobi with pinprick injuries dropping dead at her feet, poison leeching from their pores. A shinobi with one arm dangling by threads of muscle; his ankle broken; forehead split down the middle and gushing blood who had walked out of the hospital under his own weight only six months later.

"Maybe. There's a lot of damage, but I can heal it. I've had to remove one of his lungs, and his ribs won't ever be the same. But it's up to him what happens after I do. If his body doesn't have the strength, he'll die within the hour. If he makes it through the night, he'll live to see another day."

Sakura watched as Tsunade forced the ribs back into place with one hand, the glow of her chakra fusing the muscles back over the top. Even though her official training was over, she was still in awe of the things she watched her teacher do. A question was scratching at the tip of her tongue, so close to being asked.

"Out with it; he's unconscious. He won't hear us."

"Ah... I was just wondering if you knew what Danzo was planning on doing with all those sharingan, shishou. If he had them, why did nobody know? Why have them if he seemed to never use them?"

Tsunade did spare her a glance this time, a quick flicker of her brown eyes and the look of concern Sakura had seen so many times before.

"I assume you've seen Kakashi's medical file, at least before it was stolen?"

"...yes?"

"The reason we keep a close eye on him is because the sharingan implanted in his eye socket causes a reaction in his body, both to his chakra and to his immune system. A lot of people forget that what he has is more than just a kekkei-genkai- it's an organ, and it will behave like any other transplanted organ. Kakashi has no way of turning the sharingan off, so it is constantly forcing and cycling chakra into it, which drains his overall chakra stores. Physically, it strains his immune system and leaves him susceptible to illnesses. The reasons Kakashi is capable of handling the issues lies mostly in his genetic makeup; it was determined when he first had the eye implanted that his genetic makeup was similar to the Uchiha clan, which is most likely why he was able to handle it so well. He has enough similarity for his body to handle the kekkei-genkai, but doesn't possess the genes that make it so troublesome for the Uchiha clan. Kakashi is also a highly trained and qualified ninja; with excellent chakra control who stays in good health. Danzo, though very skilled in his youth, doesn't possess the same levels of chakra control, and as he aged, his health declined. Even activating one of the sharingan would have been difficult for him, let alone the five implanted into the arm. As for what his intentions were, who can say? I'm sure there were many jutsu that the sharingan made possible that were never documented. It's possible Danzo knew about them and was attempting to be able to replicate one, but we might never know. His personal effects have been transferred to my office, I'll need to go through them before I can make any definitive decisions."

Sakura let her gaze fall on the tissues slowly knitting together under Tsunade's bloodied fingers, seamless and perfect. The image of the sharingan eyes in the papery thin skin staring up at her had lingered in her thoughts all day, scratching at the back of her mind with an irritating urgency.

"You can go; leave your daily report on Shizune's desk, was there anything noteworthy I should know about?"

Sakura cleared her throat and tapped the spine of the binder she had tucked under her arm, "Nothing particular, shishou. Konohamaru is doing well, his speech is improving and his mobility is up to twenty percent. He's still receiving pain medication for the discomfort. Moegi is... physically doing better. Emotionally, I think she would benefit from seeing someone professionally. The nurses have her on a small dosage of something for her anxiety, and it seems like she hasn't been lowered on her pain medication in a few days. I did follow ups on most of the jounin from the check up assessments, and the reports are filled in, they just need your signature. We also received notice from Ino's escort party-"

Tsunade snorted but didn't say anything, and Sakura felt the ghost of a smile curl at the side of her mouth. The escort mission was a sore spot for Tsunade right now. A one week B rank mission had turned into a three week A rank all because of an old man with too much money he didn't want to part with. Sakura knew Ino was already going to be angry enough when she got back, so the message had given her some peace of mind.

"The scouting party has no injuries to record and will only require general checkup when they arrive, which can be done by any of the medics on staff. They expect to arrive in the Konoha surrounding by tomorrow evening."

"Thank you, Sakura. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

Sakura nodded and turned on her heel, sparing a brief glance back at the shinobi on the medic table.

 _Fight hard,_ she thought as she let the door close behind her, _we're rooting for you._

Early evening was washing over Konoha when she stepped outside, the brisk air from the earlier storm rushing up to greet her. The sky was a wash of pink and orange speckled between heavy grey clouds, the scent of rain and dewy grass lingering in the air to mingle with the scents of various foods being cooked. The usual bustle of this time of day milled around her; families heading home for dinner, shinobi returning from the training grounds, and the lights of restaurants flickering into existence as they opened their doors to the hungry public. A soft warmth blossomed on her skin, brushing against her upper thigh. Sakura frowned and brushed her skirt, but only felt the warmth grow hotter, a tingle rippling through her leg. She could see a soft, pulsing glow shining through the fabric of her skirt and she dug around in her pocket, remembering the chakra stone Kakashi had given her. It was alive in her palm, pulsing and hot. She remembered his invitation, and the address he had given her on a slip of paper. Sakura rummaged in her bag as she walked, digging through her mountains of trash and medical supplies before she found the wadded up note, Kakashi's familiar scrawl slanted across it. The address wasn't far from the centre of town, but the opposite direction of her house, and nowhere close to Kakashi's apartment. Her interest was piqued enough that she ignored the irritated growl of her stomach as she leapt up onto the rooftops to avoid the bustling foot traffic around her. From this vantage point, Konoha was even more beautiful than she remembered. This time of Spring was her favourite; when the rains came but the promise of summertime kissed at the edges of the day. The darkened sky was a backdrop for the dim glow of lights that dotted the village, spreading a warmth and coziness that she thrived on. The house she stopped in front of was painted red and grey, with a garland of creeping vine winding its way up the foundation. She was spared the decision of whether or not to knock by the door swinging open, Pakkun sitting in the doorway.

"Come in, you're gonna miss it."

"Miss what?"

The scent of dog hit her in the face like a bucket of ice water; the distant sound of yelps and barks mingling with the distinct sound of people talking. Sakura followed Pakkun into the next room, taking in her surroundings before realizing where she was. This was the home of a member of the Inuzuka clan. Her suspicions were confirmed when Pakkun led her into a room where a beautiful chocolate brown dog was nestled in a pile of blankets, her head rested on Kakashi's lap. He looked up and gave her his customary peace sign, his other hand not moving from where it was combing through the dog's fur.

"Yo. Kita, this is Sakura. Sakura, this is Kita. She's one of Hana Inuzuka's ninken, and Bisuke's partner."

Kita's large blue eyes were soft and framed with thick lashes. Sakura remembered Bisuke describing them in vivid detail, accompanied by a seemingly never ending moping about how he would never be able to get noticed by her. Sakura took in the large stretch of the ninken's belly and she paused, taken aback when she realized what was happening. Kita was giving birth; this is what Kakashi had given her the chakra stone to be here for. The creak of the floorboards brought her attention to the door, where Hana was holding more towels in her hands. Sakura had seen Hana in the hospital many times before, though she was more often a field medic with chunin teams. They had even worked together a handful of times. Sakura bowed politely.

"Inuzuka-san, thank you for inviting me into your home. Especially for such a special moment."

Hana smile warmly and squeezed Sakura's hand as she passed by, tucking the warmed blankets against Kita, who whined softly.

"There's no need for such formalities, Sakura-chan. I'm glad to have you, especially since I've heard you were part of finally getting Bisuke to speak to Kita. She was always so taken by him, but she felt it was too forward of her to make the first move."

Hana kneeled beside her ninken and rubbed her head soothingly and gesturing for Sakura to join her. Kita's whines were getting louder, the harsh pant of of her breath closer together. Kakashi smoothed his hand up and down Kita's back and Sakura found herself taking in the moment. Kakashi looked so at ease, no weight in his shoulders or tension in his spine. He was sprawled lazily on the floor, covered in towels, and looking every part that he belonged there. Had it not been for Bisuke's sharp intake of breath, she would have missed the small, pink bundle that Hana immediately slipped into a blanket, the soft glow of her chakra checking for any issues before she nestled the puppy, no bigger than Sakura's palm, up against Kita's belly. Pakkun bumped his head against Bisuke's shoulder and they nodded at one another, a manly show of approval and friendship that made Sakura want to laugh. Two more puppies joined the blankets, and Sakura could have sworn a tear was glistening at the corner of Kakashi's eye. Several minutes later, seven puppies lay wiggling amidst the blanket, Hana checking the last of them over before letting it force its way into the group. She rubbed her hand against Kita's cheek before leaning in to press a kiss to the fur on her forehead.

"You did so well, my beautiful girl." she praised, "Kakashi and I will be right back, okay? Sakura? Would you mind just keeping an eye on them, make sure the puppies are all getting milk, and that Kita feels well."

Kakashi eased Kita's head off his lap, murmuring something into her ear that Sakura didn't catch, but the soft caress of her ears and the affection under the chin scratch suggested Kakashi was just as proud of her as Hana was. The two disappeared into another room, though Sakura was unsure what for. She didn't know the politics around ninken births, though she knew Kakashi's ninken did technically belong to the Inuzuka pack. Sakura watched as the small pink puppies wiggled close to their mother, the sounds of gentle whines and squeaks making her heart ache with joy. The birth of most ninja summons was shrouded in privacy, and the Inuzuka clan were no exception to the rule. The fact that Kakashi had asked if she could be here and they had allowed it was overwhelming. Sakura smiled as Bisuke pushed his face against Kita's fur and nuzzled adoringly, his words to her whispered too quietly for Sakura to make out. Pakkun and Bull were both looking on with pride, already discussing when they would be ready for training. Sakura heard Kakashi come up behind her and rest a hand on her shoulder.

"They'll be ready to leave Kita in about six weeks... then we'll see which one takes to you."

Sakura looked up into Kakashi's eye and frowned, "I'm sorry?"

Bisuke pushed his nose into Sakura's thigh and cleared his throat, "I spoke with Kita and Hana, and we would like you to have one of the pups, if you'd like. We know you've got the slugs, but there's nothin' that says you can't have a dog too. We'll have to see which one takes to you, and Hana already has a few kids in the clan who are ready for a ninken, but once they're ready to go- one of them is yours if you'd like them."

Sakura's words caught in her throat as she tried to speak, tears of gratitude welling up in her eyes. Kakashi had to be behind this, she had no doubts from the way he was smiling under his mask. She loved her slugs, but they weren't exactly the cuddly type, and they were used to Tsunade's style of combat moreso than hers. The thought of having her own ninken, one from the Inuzuka clan no less, rocked her emotions.

"...I... thank you..."

Bisuke smiled, chest puffed out with pride as he trotted back over to his newborn puppies and Kita, curling up beside them and pushing his forehead against Kita's. Sakura got to her feet to stand beside Kakashi, still at a loss for words. He rubbed a hand along the back of his neck, seeming to sense her feelings.

"Just a small token of appreciation for taking care of my dogs, even thought I didn't know it. You might need help in the first few weeks when you train your ninken, they're a lot more stubborn than you would think, and it can take some time to find a middle ground but- Sakura?"

She reached out and wrapped her arms tight around him, her face pushing into the hard pane of his chest as she clung to him. She felt his intake of breath before his hands settled slowly around her, the hot palm of his hand burning through the cloth of her shirt in the small of her back. She squeezed him hard for good measure before pulling away, cheeks red from her abrupt action. She and Naruto hugged all the time, but she wasn't sure she had ever surprised Kakashi with one in that manner. Still, she didn't let go for a long moment. It wasn't until she heard an amused cough that she jumped back and scratched the back of her neck awkwardly. Hana had hr hands clasped in front of her and a warm smile on her face, but the twinkle in her eye conveyed her amusement well enough.

"I appreciate the both of you being here, I'll update you on the progress of the puppies over the course of the coming weeks. It looks as though all of them will be ninken, which is better than we expected."

Kakashi's eye crinkled at the corner, but it was somehow even brighter than Sakura had seen before.

"Thank you, Hana. I appreciate everything you've done for my pack, let me know if they can do anything for you while Kita is recovering."

They bid their goodbyes, and Kakashi and Sakura both stepped out into the chill of the night air. Sakura hadn't even realized they had been inside so long, too caught up in the adrenaline and awe of being part of such an important moment. Kakashi wasn't making any move to leave, gazing up into the trees in his usual silence. Sakura chewed on her bottom lip and wrapped her arms around herself, wondering idly if she should have brought a jacket.

"I really can't thank you enough, Kakashi. You really didn't have to-"

"I know I didn't. I wanted to."

His quiet, matter of fact speaking made Sakura's stomach flip. Did he not realize what kind of gesture this was? How kind and thoughtful and generous it was of him to just _do this?_

"Kakashi, really. Let me-"

He was standing in front of her, hands gently holding her shoulders.

"Sakura... accept the gift."

"I _am,_ I'm just-"

He pressed a finger to her lips, a deep chuckle rumbling in his chest.

"Shhh. Accept the gift."

Sakura raised an eyebrow and he let his finger slip from her mouth before he stepped back, stuffing his hands into his pockets. He tipped his head at her as she shook off a shiver, the squished border of houses along the alley forming a perfect tunnel for the rush of cold wind to roar down. A weight dropped onto her shoulders, and the spicy scent of pine and damp earth surrounded her. He's shucked his jacket in one swift movement, swinging it around her.

"Don't catch a cold, Tsunade would never let you hear the end of it."

"Ne... Kakashi?"

He cocked his eyebrow at her and she waved off the rest of her sentence. Naruto gave her his jacket all the time, and she was always lending out her hair ties to people. It was a gesture of kindness. She wasn't going to make it weird, because then he would think it was weird, and then they'd be back at square one.

"I have to get home to Genma. He gets terribly lonely when Shizune isn't around, it's quite pathetic. Maybe I'll see you tomorrow, Sakura."

"Goodnight, Kakashi."

He was already a poof of smoke, and she was left clutching the collar of his jacket around her shoulders, a strange sensation she hadn't felt in a long time waking up inside her, stretching out like a cat from slumber to settle in for a long day.

"...Sakura don't you dare." she muttered quietly to herself.

She was not crushing on an unavailable, aloof, emotionally constipated shinobi again.

She would not.

God, she needed a boyfriend.

* * *

Shizune yanked at the root of her hair and let loose a frustrated screech, tossing the negative sample into the biohazard bin beside her. It wasn't as though there had been no progress; she had managed to determine that there were five members of the Uchiha clan who had their eyes implanted in the arm, though only one of them had had both of their eyes removed. Only two were female, and four of the five shinobi had distinct damage to the chakra vessels, suggesting intense combat or age. The problem was a lack of comparative samples, and it was bringing her work to a grinding halt. Shizune rifled through the small vials and removed five samples, bringing them up to compare against the samples taken from the eyes. Danzo's body was still laid out beside her, the bright lights washing his grey skin a strange off-white. She had covered the sharingan, it had been hard to focus with them staring up at her, silently judging. While the samples were testing, she moved over to Danzo's body, giving it the hundredth critical inspection. She knew heart attacks were a common cause of death among people Danzo's age, and that it wasn't a commentary on her medical ability that she hadn't noticed anything strange in his last checkup. But it still felt wrong, somehow.

Shizune pressed a gloved hand over Danzo's heart, flickering out a small amount of chakra in the hope it would reveal something. Anything. His body was long cold, however, and she sighed as she pulled back her hand. The drag of her glove against his chest hair pulled it away from the skin and she frowned, reaching up to direct the light over his chest. Hidden in the swatch of hair that speckled his chest, was a black mark no bigger than the tip of her pointer finger.

"A burn?" she murmured to herself, reaching for the clipboard. Breaking her from her action, howevr, the chime of bells sounded in the air and Shizune felt a surge of happiness. The samples had found a match. She all but ran to the counter, raking her eyes down the samples for the blood match that had aligned with the sample from the sharingan. Her excitement fizzled out, replaced by an angry confusion.

Shisui Uchiha had submitted a blood sample for testing after returning from a mission to Wave County that may have exposed him to a contagious illness. Two weeks later, he had died. The exact details of his death were still under question, as far as she knew. The Uchiha clan had made it clear they didn't believe he would have committed suicide, and even Shizune knew of the rumors that Itachi Uchiha had killed him to awaken his Mangekyou Sharingan. Technically, there was no way for the eyes to be his; if she hadn't been so frustrated she might not have even bothered testing his sample. Shisui Uchiha had crushed his eyes when he fell from the cliff, or so his file said.

So how did Danzo have one of them?

"...ugh. Tsunade's going to drink herself into a grave if this keeps up."

* * *

 **AN- Thank you so much to all my readers, and especially to anyone who has taken the time to review. I tried to balance plot and cuteness here, so I hope it doesn't seem to much all over the place.**


	16. Chapter 16

Sakura tipped her head back, stringing her fingers through her hair to rinse away the last remnants of conditioner. Even over the rushing sound of the water streaming from her shower head, she could hear the distant grumble of thunder and the occasional downpour of rain knocking at her bathroom window. The rain hadn't let up for three days now, and while she was more than happy to curl up after her shifts with a good book and a cup of tea, her feline companion had taken to skulking around the apartment and yowling. Even the patients she saw at the hospital had taken to commenting on how dreary the rain was. Sakura had cracked the bathroom window ever so slightly, loving the way the sharp, brisk air would whip through the room and mingle with her scalding water. She was busy making mental lists of things to do when the door to the bathroom slammed open, and a dark figure could be seen through the foggy blurred glass. Sakura screamed, now weapon at hand, but kicked open the door and raised one glowing fist at the intruder.

"Get out of the shower or I'll drag you out by your hair."

Sakura relaxed, pressing a palm to her chest to try and calm her racing heart. The dark figure was a mud splattered and water drenched Ino; blonde hair a tangled mess of knots and slick mud. Her feet were bare but muddied and tracking prints all over the floor.

"You look horrible." Sakura chirped, turning off the water and reaching for her towel. Ino was already peeling off her layers without shame, each soaked piece landing on the tiled floor with a wet slap. Sakura pulled the window closed and slid the lock into place, hearing Ino mumbling under her breath as she climbed into the shower. Sakura picked one item of clothing up from the floor, holding it at arms length and watching it drip brown water into a puddle.

"...ah, Pig? I'm just going to..."

 _Set these on fire_ she thought, catching a whiff of them.

"Do whatever you want. I'm never leaving this shower. And when I'm done never leaving the shower, I'm never leaving my bed."

Sakura stuffed the soggy clothes into a large bag, "did you just get in? Have you been to see Tsunade-sama for a mission report, or been to the medic desk?"

"Ugh, Forehead, don't get parental on me just yet. The gate guards said Tsunade would take our report tomorrow morning, and I wasn't dragging my ass to the hospital at this hour to be poked at. If you're really that worried you can check me over when I'm done." There was a clatter and a yelp before Ino let out a frustrated grunt, "I'm going to have to shave my head!"

Judging by the brown dirt clumps that were speckling the shower door with Ino's every movement, Sakura was inclined to agree. She dragged the clothes down the hall, finding her friends muddy bare footprints tracked from the door all the way up the stairs. She would clean up while Ino was showering, she had definitely been through enough on her mission. Sakura dumped the clothes in the trash bin, deciding they were probably behind saving at this point. She made note of a long, thin rip in the thigh of the pant leg to ask Ino about. The kitchen was mostly tidy, save for the empty teacup Sakura had left behind from earlier in the evening, and Kakashi's jacket slung over the back of the chair. She hadn't seen anything of him since the night at the Inuzuka residence, but admittedly she had been fairly busy. The chilly wet weather had brought with it a nasty cold that everyone and their okaasan had managed to catch. He had a scheduled checkup with her tomorrow, she could return his jacket then.

Ino didn't emerge from the shower until almost a full hour later. By then, Sakura had wiped the floors clean and had a pot of tea bubbling on the stove, a warm bowl of chicken and rice beside it. Ino was face down on her bed when Sakura entered, the meal balanced carefully on a tray. Ino opened one eye and cracked an exhausted smile.

"Is this a bribe so you can give me a checkup?"

"Will it work if it is?"

She knew Ino was a medic nin, and capable of taking care of herself if anything had happened. It just made her feel better to check for herself, to have the concrete evidence in her hand that her friends were okay. Ino knew that, and rolled over without complaint before stuffing the rice into her mouth was gusto. Sakura pressed her fingers to Ino's temple, feeling the push back of chakra before it relaxed and let her through. Ino was exhausted, Sakura could feel it leeching into her bones. She could feel the tender inflammation of recently healed trauma, though nothing serious. The tear on Ino's pants had likely been a kunai wound, though nothing more than a graze based on the healing pattern. Her chakra was depleted far lower than Sakura felt comfortable with, and there were outward signs of dehydration now that Sakura was sitting so close. Other than bruising and superficial scratches, however, Ino was at a level of health expected for her mission. Sakura would make sure she went to the hospital tommorrow morning for fluids and treatment, but for now she would benefit from some sleep and maybe a massage. Ino drank greedily from the water glass when she had finished her meal before cradling the teacup in her cupped palms.

"Want to tell me why there's a whole tree missing from the outside of the village and my team had to wait a half hour outside the gate for verification of our identification? The hell did I miss?"

Sakura clicked her tongue before settling in behind Ino on the bed and pushing her thumbs into the flesh of her shoulder, feeling the tight coil of muscle twitch under her. Ino's angry hiss of displeasure petered out into a relaxed sigh as Sakura worked the muscles in her neck and shoulder blade, knowing she would at least sleep better if she could get some of the tension loose. "It's a long story. Started with our mission going south..."

The whole story took a full half hour to finish, even with Sakura cutting some of the information out that she knew Ino wasn't supposed to know. Ino's teacup was empty on the bedside table, and she was curled up under the blankets, one foot sticking out the end and her hair fanned out on the pillows.

"Sounds like you've had your work cut out for you. At least it seems like it's over for now?"

Sakura thought of Danzo and his implanted Sharingan; the lingering knowledge that there could be more people out there carrying Orochimaru's handiwork; not knowing what he had intended to do with them, and the sickening sensation that they were being lulled into a false sense of security. She smiled.

"Yeah, I'm glad it's over for now. Maybe you could try and see Moegi sometime, she always liked you. And Shikamaru will be glad you're back, I've spent some time helping him with his genin and I honestly don't know how he does it-" she broke off and laughed quietly. Ino's eyes were closed, her mouth gaping and a light rasping snore creeping in the back of her throat. Sakura silently grabbed the empty bowl and teacup, leaving behind the water glass in case she would need it later. The door clicked into place behind her and she crept quietly to the kitchen, washing the dishes and putting everything back into its place. The outside storm had lessened in intensity, but the flickers of lightning and accompanying rolls of thunder still enveloped the village. Mr Wiggles was hunched against the window sill, clawing and yowling at the glass.

"Will you calm down, it's just a little bad weather." Sakura scooped her hands under his belly and heaved him into the air, ignoring the flailing limbs and irritated hiss she received. She turned her head as a flicker of lightening illuminated her garden and her heart leapt into her throat. Someone was outside. Their tall, shadowed figure was gone in the next flash of lightening, but she was already outside, kunai in one hand and cat in the other. She couldn't sense any chakra, and in the downpour of rain she noticed several of her flower bushes could cast a threatening silhouette at the wrong angle. All the tension she was carrying was starting to make her crazy. She needed a relaxing afternoon. If Jiraiya wasn't in the village again, she might consider visiting the onsen. Mr Wiggles was squirming in her grip, forcing her to set him down in the doorway, where he promptly began shredding the wood under his claws. Inconsiderate cat. Did he not know she'd saved him from a life of being chased by genin?

She pushed the thought of an intruder out of her mind, instead letting the cold air rush over her face; the gentle spray of water caught up in the wind kissing at her skin. The air smelled fresh and clear, muddled with the scent of damp earth and grass. Summer was coming.

* * *

"Boss?... Boss?... get him, Bull."

Kakashi launched upright with a wheeze when he felt a large weight land directly on his gut, his forehead almost connecting with Bull's as he flung into the air. Pakkun looked on with a smug grin as Kakashi rubbed his eyes and shoved Bull aside.

"You gotta see Sakura today, Boss. It's on the calendar."

Kakashi squinted at the calendar tacked to the wall, a pink smiley face drawn in gel pen on today's date. Sakura had put it there to remind him of his check up, which wasn't for another hour. Which meant he could sleep for at least another three. He flopped back onto the bed and sighed, pressing the palm of his hand hard against his sharingan, trying to ward off the aura of pain circling around the back of the eye. Sleep hadn't been particularly welcoming for the last few nights; images of Sasuke in his arms, bleeding out into the ground. Rin screaming in pain as he sliced through her without mercy. Obito ripping into his face with a kunai, yanking the sharingan out and holding it into the air before Kakashi was buried beneath a mountain of rocks.

"Boss?"

Kakashi lifted his palm and eyed Pakkun, now sitting on the pillow and staring at him with worried eyes.

"If you ever get Bull to do that again, I'm going to feed you kibble for days."

Pakkun blanched, and Kakashi basked in his victory before kicking away the blankets, feeling the cold sweat prickle as it dried on his skin. It was still raining, casting a miserable gloom over the village. He supposed he could be on time for his appointment today, Sakura would definitely appreciate it.

"The loud blonde is back. Got in last night." Pakkun said as he trotted behind Kakashi, who began digging in his drawers for clean clothes. He could probably stand to do some laundry.

"Naruto?"

It wasn't unheard of that someone with Naruto's stamina could make the journey from Suna to Konoha in about three days, but that was in peak conditions. With all this rain, he hadn't expected Naruto for at least another two days.

"Nah, the girl that lives with Sakura. She smelled bad, even worse than when Bisuke fell in the swamp that one time."

Kakashi pulled a long sleeved grey sweater from the depths of the drawer and frowned, "Why were you at Sakura's last night?"

He peered into his bottom drawer and grabbed the first pair of pants he saw, shaking off the dog hair that had accumulated. They were a little tighter than he liked to wear, but he couldn't be picky today. Not when his laundry pile was slowly becoming sentient in the corner. He was going to have to pay to use the dryer in the apartment block. Or the ryo slot was going to have to "break" again.

"Was wandering past and smelled somethin' odd around her apartment block. Thought I'd make sure she was okay."

Kakashi bounced on the balls of his feet and grunted as the fabric slipped up over his thighs. No more pastries. None.

"More like thought she'd have some leftovers for you," he muttered, ignoring the sharp narrowed eyes Pakkun gave him.

"I'm just looking out for her, us ninken think she's pretty nice. Whatever that blonde had been doing wasn't good though- smelled like rot all over her yard."

Kakashi pulled the soft sweater of his head and ruffled a hand through his hair, "Rot? She just got back from a mission, but with this weather who knows what she would have come across on the way back."

'Rot' wasn't exactly a good sign, and had it been any other ninken he wouldn't think anything of it, but Pakkun was one of his best scent trackers. He'd have to ask Sakura how Ino was doing, even though he had never worked with her, she was still one of Asuma's former students. A lot of the jounin who had worked with him while he was alive had taken it upon themselves to occasionally look out for his former team. He fixed his mask into place and slipped his hitai-ate down over the aching sharingan, feeling an instant sense of relief wash over him as it was shielded from the light. He poked gently at Mr. Ukki and Ms. Shia's soil, satisfied that they were appropriately hydrated before heading out into his kitchen with Pakkun on his heels.

"You know, if you were thinking about getting a packmate-" Pakkun began, only to be cut off by Kakashi throwing a half eaten apple from the refrigerator at him.

"I don't need a packmate, but thank you for your concern."

"I'm just sayin', the ninken and I were noticing you've been spending a lot of time with Sakura lately-"

Another piece of fruit soared from behind the open refrigerator door and Pakkun caught it in his mouth, slurping the plum juice eagerly before spitting the pit out onto the floor.

"Sakura is a former student and a current teammate. I'm not going to have my ninken playing matchmaker, especially because they're thinking with their bottomless pit stomachs."

Pakkun sighed heavily, "Well I was _going_ to tell you that Bisuke heard from Guruko, who heard from one of the Inuzuka dogs that one of the jounin coming back from border rotation is going to ask Sakura to dinner. So if you wanted to do it, you should do it before he does."

Kakashi peered over the top of the door, meeting Pakkun's eyes. The jounin coming back from border patrol were, to his knowledge, a bunch of idiots. Capable idiots, obviously, but idiots nonetheless. Sakura was old enough to make her own decisions, but she was much better than any of the shinobi in that group.

"Which jounin?"

Pakkun smiled, "I dunno, I think maybe some sausages would help me remember"

Kakashi slammed the refrigerator shut and rolled his eyes, reaching for his spare coat, "Not likely. Tell the rest of the ninken there isn't to be any matchmaking, especially not after the last time."

He could still remember the horrified look on Kurenai's face when the ninken had tried "helping" him find a packmate. He shuddered. He was just glad she had taken it in stride and they had been able to laugh about it afterwards, when he was wearing clothing and she had finished hitting him with the broom. He pulled the newest Icha Icha from his pocket, flipping easily to his favourite scene as he headed down the stairs, umbrella in hand. His desire to avoid his ninken had put him ahead of schedule, which meant he could enjoy a leisurely walk to the hospital in the light shower of rain that was splattering the ground underneath him. He scanned the page, picking up where he had left off the night before.

" _Would you love me if I was beautiful?" she whispered, the tremble of her lips making my heart ache to catch it between my own. I slipped my hands through her hair as we pressed our foreheads together, letting one slide down the lithe curve of her back to settle at the swell of her backside._

" _You are beautiful, Kimiko," I whispered, letting my lips barely caress her own, "But you're so young. You shouldn't love someone like me. I'm dangerous. I'm so much older."_

 _She was grabbing my bicep, clinging to me with desperation as her eyes glittered with tears. I had never wanted to hurt her; but I had to leave the village. I had orders from the daimyo to return home, orders I couldn't ignore. I pried her fingers from my arm and gave her one last, lingering kiss on her forehead._

" _I'm sorry, Kimiko. You need to let me go."_

"Kakashi!"

He buried his nose deeper into the book, hoping that if he ignored whoever was calling him, they would go away. He could hear the slap of sandals splashing through the puddles of water, getting closer with every second.

"Hey! Don't ignore me!"

Kakashi saw Iruka sidle up beside him and he smiled, "Oh, I didn't hear you. My apologies."

The deadpan look Iruka gave him clearly showed he didn't believe a word coming out of Kakashi's mouth, but he clapped a hand against Kakashi's back.

"The Academy needs jounin to come talk to the kids about being a shinobi. Since you've dodged the job six years running now, I thought you could come along."

"Oh no, Iruka, I'm terribly busy. What a shame. May I suggest Genma?"

Iruka kept up pace easily, not swayed by Kakashi ignoring him, "Actually, I heard you're still off the mission roster for the time being, which means you've got plenty of time to come talk to the kids. Wednesday, bright and early. Don't be late!"

He watched Iruka walk away with a spring in his step and he sighed. Maybe he could convince Sakura to get him a mission from Tsunade. He'd even consider taking a D-rank mission if it meant he didn't need to go to the Academy. Surely there was a flower bed around here that needed weeding. The hospital was bustling with nurses and medic nin; the sickly scent of medicine and high strength cleaner sticking to everything in the building. Kakashi scrunched up his nose as he made his way to the check in desk. The nurse shot him a surprised glance, scrambling for her folders.

"Hatake-san! You're... here?"

"I have an appointment."

The nurse pulled his file from the back of the pile and smiled nervously, "We know, just..ah... you're on time. We weren't expecting- well, you aren't usually... punctual. Let me get Haruno-san, she'll be right with you in room eleven."

Kakashi let the nurse usher him into the room, handing him the thin paper gown that he hated with a passion before disappearing. He waited several minutes until he heard the sharp knock on the door, followed by Sakura peering in.

"You scared the nurses, Kakashi. They're worried you're about to drop dead if you actually showed up on time."

She took the gown from his hands and tucked it into the bin, knowing which battles to fight. Kakashi caught the hem of his sweater and pulled it up and over his head, flinching when the cold metal of the stethoscope touched his bare chest.

"Pain? In the eye or otherwise?"

"Minimal pain in the scar under my eye, Tsunade did a good job. The sharingan, though..."

He felt the stethoscope on his back and took several deep breaths each time she shifted it. She flicked his knee and it jerked in place, making her nod. She flicked on a small light and shone it into his eyes, frowning when she brought it to the sharingan.

"Where's the pain?"

"In the eye?"

Sakura smacked his shoulder, "You know what I mean, don't be difficult."

"Back of the eye mostly. Feels like someone is yanking it from the inside, sharp and then radiating outwards. No issues when using it, no abnormal bleeding, and no pain into my brain."

Sakura 'hmmed' and brought her face to his, almost nose to nose. He could smell the shampoo he used on Pakkun wafting from her hair and he smiled. Sakura slid her thumb along the new scar that cut horizontally under his eye before she traced the older one, pushing thin threads of chakra into the old scar tissue.

"May I?"

She held her hand poised over his eye, but he shrugged.

"Be my guest."

Her chakra was icy cold against the pain in his eye, making him try and jerk away. Sakura's hand curled at the back of his neck and held him firmly in place, her thumb grazing over the top of his eyelid. He could feel the tingle of her chakra weaving through the eye, feeling it trying to fight it but being lulled into submission. He could feel the pain ebbing away, replaced by a cooling rush. When she pulled back, she pulled his hitai-ate down.

"I don't see any damage to the eye, but I do think the injury so close to it is causing some issues. There's a lot of inflammation, which is triggering the pain response. With everything that's going on, your stress levels probably aren't helping. Are you having nightmares?"

He didn't say anything, torn between lying and being honest. She already knew he was having them, but to admit it aloud seemed strange. Sakura took his silence as a yes, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a thin vial of red liquid. She slid her hand into his and forced his fingers to curl around it.

"A blend Shizune and I worked on a few months ago. The herbs in the medicine will give you a dreamless sleep without affecting REM, so you won't feel unrested. One drop a night in a glass of water, and no caffeine after ingesting it unless you want an upset gut. Your lungs sound fine, so if you're lucky you won't catch whatever seems to be going around the village. Reflexes normal, vitals even better than a few days ago. If it were up to me, I might even say you were mission ready. But that's obviously up for Tsunade-sama to decide. She does want a blood sample from you, if you'd be so kind."

He held out his arm while she arranged the supplies, swiping an alcohol pad on the ditch of his elbow before pushing her fingers against it, smiling when she found a vein on the first try.

"You're good at this."

"Naruto helped me practice since he heals so fast, though he's such a baby about needles."

Kakashi felt the sharp pinch as the needle slipped into the vein, watching his blood wind down the tubes and fill the vial. When Sakura was satisfied, she pressed her thumb to the pinprick wound and it healed over, the uncomfortable jab dissolving.

"Sakura?"

"Mmm?"

She was scribbling in his new chart and labelling the vials of blood; deeply entrenched in her "medic nin mode". He thought of what Pakkun had said about the jounin, and he couldn't help the words that tumbled out of his mouth.

"Since you think I'm up for training, how about you show me that technique of yours? Later tonight, maybe? At the training grounds?"

 _Dammit, Kakashi, what the hell are you doing?_

Sakura grinned, "Sure. Though Ino got back in last night, she had a rough mission. I was going to do a girls night for her. How about tomorrow instead?"

Kakashi reached for his sweater, feeling somehow more naked without his shirt than he did in the paper gown and underwear, "Tomorrow is fine. I'll pick you up from the hospital."

 _I'm just making sure she spends her time with someone who cares about her. There's nothing wrong with two friends spending time together. Pakkun just has you feeling weird about it because the ninken don't understand how human relationships work. You're just being a -_

"Sucker?"

"Eh?"

Sakura held out a fan of lollipops, several of each colour clutched in her hand, "I was giving vaccines when you showed up. Good patients get suckers."

Kakashi plucked a green one from the line up and tore the plastic off, pushing the too-sweet green apple flavour between his lips. Sakura cleared her throat and held something out to him, Kakashi realizing belatedly that it was his jacket.

"Sorry I didn't get it to you sooner; it's been busy around here. I washed it, so..."

"Oh. Thank you."

He tucked it under his arm and stood up, watching as Sakura signed the bottom of his chart and gestured to the door, "You're free to go, Kakashi. I'll send all of this through to Tsunade-sama and she'll send something to get you if she thinks you need a check up." she looked around and lowered her voice, stepping closer to him, "I don't know if there's been any updates on the, ah, situation. But if I hear anything, I'll let you know."

Kakashi smiled and gave her a respectful nod, holding the door open for her as she brushed past him.

"Goodbye, Kakashi! See you tomorrow!"

Kakashi watched her walk away, a bounce in her step and her pink hair shining under the fluorescent lights.

Oh no.

No no no.

His damn dogs were going to be the death of him.

* * *

"You're sure?"

Shizune pushed her hair out of her face, looking frazzled but stern, "Yes, Tsunade-sama. The sharingan implanted into Danzo's eyes is an exact genetic match to Uchiha Shisui. I've positively identified the sharingan in his arm as belonging to Uchiha Akira, Hisoka, Katsuo, Osamu, Susumu and Momo. I had to go back into the medical archives to retrieve samples from when Konoha was under biological warfare threat from Iwagakure, but all of them are a near identical match. Akira, Katsuo and Susumu were all classified as killed in action almost twenty five years ago after a mission gone wrong, though their bodies were never recovered. Hisoka was listed as missing in action until the Uchiha massacre, he disappeared on a mission in the Land of Rice Fields and was never seen again, though it was assumed he defected after a disagreement with the Patriarch of the clan at the time, Uchiha Fugaku's predecessor. As for Uchiha Momo," Shizune paused and scratched the back of her neck, "Her medical file says she died in Konoha after complications giving birth to her son, who also died. Her body was turned over to the clan and she was supposedly buried..."

Tsunade sighed and scrawled her signature on a scroll without looking, "Orochimaru was dabbling in suspicious activity for a long time before he left, and I have no doubts now that his experiments were sanctioned by Danzo in secret. I don't find it hard to believe he acquired the bodies of the shinobi and removed the sharingan before the Uchiha clan could locate and destroy them. He has also done his share of grave robbing. Admittedly... how he managed to get his hands on one of Shisui's eyes is concerning, especially considering the questions around his death. Unfortunately, I think anyone who was around who might have had answers is long dead. Now that we know who they belonged to, we will be able to bury them with dignity. Remove the eyes and follow the preservation protocol, I'll let Kakashi know about our findings, and we can start getting as much information from them as possible before we destroy them."

Shizune hesitated, making Tsunade want to drink deeply from her sake bottle. She gestured for Shizune to come closer, watching her shuffle forward as though walking to her doom.

"I found what appears to be a burn mark on Danzo's chest, located just above his heart."

"...and?"

"And... if a lightning jutsu was to be specifically applied, and focused solely into the fingertip, it would likely cause a heart attack that would be almost untraceable.."

Tsunade pulled on a loose thread in her haori, watching it unravel the seams, "To do something like that would require a high level of chakra precision and knowledge of several lightning jutsu. It's not necessary, of course, but it would certainly help if the person had a lighting chakra affinity."

Shizune scratched her neck, "Yes, Tsunade-sama... it would."

Tsunade popped the cap of her sake bottle and poured herself a cup, toasting it into the air before throwing it back, "Do you remember when our biggest problem was my bad temper and bad luck, Shizune?"

"I do, Tsunade-sama."

"Don't you miss them?"

Tsunade saw a thousand yard stare pass over Shizune's eyes.

"Maa... not usually, Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade smacked her lips and scrawled another signature, shoving the stack of paper off to the side. She would send one of the chunin to find Jiraiya, he had encountered Shisui when he was alive more times than she had, there was always the possibility he would know something. The Uchiha files that Sasuke had traded as a bargain for his release were locked away in the heavy cabinet beside her, the pages so familiar under the whorls of her fingertips that she could almost recite them by memory. There had been no mention of Shisui's body, only that his suicide had been a topic of debate, and Sasuke had insisted Itachi took the blame for the death the night of the massacre. Tsunade let her head thunk against the desk when she was sure Shizune had left the room. She glanced out of the window, taking in the Hokage monument though the rain and darkness.

"Stuffed old bastard," she growled at the Sandaime's likeness, "Couldn't leave your feelings out of it, could you? Had to go and get _soft_ _."_

She had idolized him in her youth, she remembered it so vividly. The respect he was given by the villagers and his sheer strength of character. She had once thought of him as the embodiment of the Will of Fire. But as she grew up, she had seen the flaws in his character, brought on by kindness, but also by ignorance. And now here she was, cleaning up one of his biggest messes. He had been unable to strike down Orochimaru. Unable to cast away Danzo. She let her gaze slide to the image of her grandfather, trying not to think about the way his face stretched out of Danzo's skin.

"If you could see me now, jii-chan," she mumbled, turning back to the mountains of paperwork in her messy office.

"You might just panic."

She reached under her desk and lifted a large wooden crate to sit atop it. Inside, the more important of Danzo's personal effects were crammed together. An ANBU team had already sorted through most of it, and Danzo hadn't been a man to keep trinkets. Instead, she was left with several scrolls; a few ornate boxes, and a handful of weapons. She rifled through the clutter, setting the scrolls to one side to look at later; opening each box and removing the contents, spilling bandages, assorted ryo and pills across her table. Nothing suspicious jumped out at her until she found the kunai loose at the bottom, a simple pink band wrapped around the handle. Tsunade lifted it up, seeing a flash of pink as she moved the weapon.

A tiny acrylic sakura blossom was stitched to the hair tie.

* * *

A/N- A big thank you to everyone who left reviews, except for the weird spammer and the rude asshole 3 I never expected to get the response I did. For anyone who hasn't seen it already, I did leave a quick note in the first chapter and updated the summary to try and explain the series a little more. In case you haven't already noticed, I'm definitely playing musical canon.


	17. Chapter 17

**KONOHAGAKURE- LAST YEAR- THREE WEEKS BEFORE THE END OF SPRING**

* * *

"You startled me."

Sakura looked up from where she was pouring tea and smiled softly, "Sorry, Tsunade-sama asked me to come by and do a checkup. I thought you would have heard me come in."

Sasuke moved slowly towards the single couch in the living room, the stiffness of his joints obvious with every hindered movement. Sakura wondered how they hadn't noticed how quickly the illness had been consuming him. She brought over two mugs of tea, setting his beside his hand and curling up on the couch beside him, tucking her feet under her body and looking out at the rain. Sasuke sniffed the tea curiously and screwed up his nose.

"It smells like the time Naruto fell in the pond and then rolled in the wet grass after."

Sakura laughed softly, blowing gently at the steam of her own before bringing it to her lips. It was light and fruity, but filled her with warmth, "Tsunade had the ingredients brought in from Ame; they'll help with the pain. It won't taste good-" Sasuke scrunched his face in distaste after the first sip, a low grunt of annoyance rumbling in the back of his throat, "- but it should make it easier to sleep and get around during the day. You can drink it up to three times a day, but not more than that."

Sakura settled herself back on the couch, happy with the silence. Naruto was here more often that she was, but the busy schedule of the hospital was keeping her occupied. Sasuke, true to his nature, was silent as he drank his tea, save for the occasional smack of distaste that slipped from his lips. Sakura ran a hand through her hair and sighed.

"You know; since you've been pardoned, you're allowed to leave the house as long as you tell the ANBU where you're going."

Sasuke regarded her over the rim of his mug, dark eyes almost flickering with a sliver of amusement.

"I somehow don't think the civilians would appreciate me spending time around them. Besides... I prefer the quiet."

Sakura paused, the genin in her reeling back as though insulted. Sasuke had said something similar many years ago, accompanied by a sneer and a shove to her shoulder. She and Sasuke hadn't spent much time together since his return, particularly not after she had slapped him across the face. Her testimony at his hearing had been honest; admitting that Sasuke had betrayed her trust and attacked her with intent to kill; that she had healed many shinobi who had described him as a cold and ruthless killer, snapping necks without mercy and leaving others to die slow and painful deaths. Sasuke had watched her from his cuffs with no emotion, even when she had gone on to admit that much of Sasuke's trauma stemmed from his childhood and ultimately, he would be an asset to the village if he wasn't to be executed. They hadn't spoken about the day, and Sakura decided she may prefer it that way. Tsunade had taken her aside the day before, warning her that any feelings she had in regards to Sasuke, the Team 7 of the past, and her friendship with Naruto would need to be put aside in exchange for nothing but the truth. Tsunade had known Naruto would speak too much from his heart, and it might not be enough to sway the panel of Sasuke's peers to vote for his release. Sasuke's crimes against the village were well known, and pretending as though they didn't happen would only serve to anger people. Sakura had grit her jaw and spoken the truth; and she couldn't deny that when they had pardoned Sasuke, she had only then been able to let loose a sigh of relief.

"I didn't... I didn't mean you," Sasuke amended quietly, bringing Sakura out of her thoughts, "I just enjoy the quiet of people being here in the house with me instead. Outside is... a lot to take in sometimes."

Sakura had read Tsunade's notes on Sasuke's illness; he was developing sensitivity to light, as well as gradual loss of hearing in one ear. Combined with his general distaste of large crowds, it made sense that he particularly disliked them now. Sakura tapped a fingernail against the china of her mug,"Tsunade-sama was reading the scrolls you gave as part of your release; she's trying her best to find something that will help. Medicine has come so far since-"

Sasuke reached out and slid his hand over hers. His fingers were bony, his hands ice cold and wrecked with small tremors.

"Sakura. You were sent here for a checkup?"

She huffed quietly at being shut down, but set her tea aside. Sasuke sat rigid on the couch, staring blankly forward, making her annoyance fizzle into laughter.

"You can relax. I promise I'll make this as quick as possible."

She could feel disease radiating from his bones when her chakra pushed out curiously. His chakra was weak, barely flickering around his body as the sickness ravaged its way through. His bones were weakened at the joints, his organs slugging themselves through their daily routines. She bit the inside of her cheek and continued her checkup, following Tsunade's instructions to the letter. Since the disease was attacking both his chakra and his body, any imbalance of foreign chakra could cause irreparable damage that would only serve to speed up the process. The inside of his body was a ravaged war zone, but if the texts were correct, this was only the beginning.

"Can you activate your sharingan?" she asked quietly. Sasuke blinked up at her, his dark eyes bleeding red and holding her gaze. A bead of blood welled in the corner of his eye and Sakura set to work as quickly as possible, feeling the physical toll it took on his body feeding back into his chakra. She pressed a hand to his cheek, wiping the streak droplet of blood away with her thumb.

"I think that's enough for now. Thank you."

Sasuke's eyes turned dark and he relaxed back into the couch cushions, watching her curiously.

"Your diagnosis?"

Sakura hesitated, but knew there was no reason to try and hide the truth from him, "The disease is progressing as expected. Given the time frame you provided us with for your symptoms, you're in the second of five stages, though you're beginning to show symptoms of entering the third. The fact you can still use the sharingan is interesting, given how low your chakra levels are and the lack of general health. I assume it's because the sharingan had emotional ties as well as physical, meaning as long as you are still cognitively coherent, your kekkei-genkai will remain active. Over the next month, I'd expect to see a more rapid decline in your mobility. It's likely going to start in your legs... Tsunade-sama will provide you with a wheelchair when you're not able to move of your own accord. From there, based on what Tsunade and I have seen, combined with what your clan documented, your hearing and other senses will deteriorate. You'll likely go blind by the end of the summer."

Sasuke pressed his lips in a thin line and brushed a strand of hair away from his face, not for the first time since her visit. Naruto took great pleasure in making fun of Sasuke's hair choices, though the Uchiha seemed to take the playful insults with a smile. Sakura reached back and unbound her hair, offering out her hair tie.

"Here, I've got so many."

Sasuke looked at the sakura blossom adorned tie with a quirked eyebrow, but took it nonetheless. With his hair pulled from his face, Sakura could see the sharp angles of his cheekbones and jaw more clearly, the lack of dark hair framing his face making the deep circles of his eyes more prominent. He was watching her; his calculating gaze unchanged from when they were both genin. It was strange to sit beside him and see who the young boy she had loved so fiercely had grown into. Now that she was older, she knew it had been infatuation. A desire to _be_ loved, not _to_ love. But the bonds they had solidified as teammates still held a place in her heart, and they always would. She was fine being known as the woman who had loved Sasuke. She did love him. Just not in the way she had always thought. She indulged the thought sometimes; of what her life would be like if Sasuke had returned her affections. Would she have abandoned the village with him? Would he have let go of his pursuit of Itachi to instead rebuild his clan with her? Would she have ever found the need to knock on Tsunade's door that day and demand that she become an apprentice?

"Sakura..."

"Mmmm?"

The rain had died down now, leaving only beads of water droplets on the plants outside and a scent of freshness in the air. Maybe she could convince Sasuke to sit outside with her, even if only for a little while. The air might be good for him; and a little sun on their skin never hurt anyone. Sasuke shifted, the press of his thigh up against hers and the cold touch of his fingers wrapping through her own.

"Sakura. I...I'm sorry I left you on the bench that night. And I'm sorry for the way I treated you when we were genin. If things had been different... I want you to know I would have reciprocated your feelings. You've grown into an amazing and beautiful kunoichi. If I had the chance to rebuild my clan, it would be with you."

"...what?"

Sasuke's face was blank, as though unaware he had just uttered something that was forcing itself down Sakura's throat, suffocating her with every word. She thought of Neji; the warm press of his hands against her body and his mouth on her own. She thought of every time she cried over Sasuke; every heartbroken moment when she and Naruto caught a glimpse of him disappearing in the distance.

"Why would you tell me that?" she whispered, the anger and confusion dripping from her tone.

"I felt like I needed to."

"...I need to leave."

Tsunade found her later, laying on her back in the rubble of training ground three.

"What did he do this time?"

"...I think he told me he could have loved me."

Tsunade scoffed and laid back against the damp grass, setting her hand atop Sakura's.

"He's dying, Sakura. You of all people should know the crazy things people say when they're staring down the end of their life. Don't let it go too much to your head."

Sasuke wasn't in her head, Sakura thought as she stared up at the night sky creeping overhead. He was, however, always good at working himself into her heart.

* * *

"How was your day?"

Ino was stuffing the udon noodles into her mouth, barely breathing between bites. Sakura knew the feeling though, there was only so long you could handle living on shinobi rations and solider pills before you started to wonder if you would ever eat real food again. Her dark circles had cleared slightly, though the deep curl of purple still settled in the very corner of her eye. She certainly smelled better; Sakura had katon-ed the bag of clothes the first chance she got, though the odd scent still lingered outside her door, much to her chagrin. Ino wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

"It was fine. I was dehydrated, and they want me to try and sleep eight hours for at least three days. No foreign germs, though apparently Usagi had a tick on her scalp," Ino shuddered, and Sakura smiled into her bowl. She had been the one to do Usagi's checkup, and the kunoichi hadn't been happy about the discovery. Ino picked through her bowl, coralling all the slivers of carrot and tossing them into Sakura's bowl with perfect aim, "No major injuries on the mission though, but they logged my kunai injury. We came across bandits at the border, though they were even stupider than they looked. One kunai between the four of them and they tried taking on a four shinobi squad escort. Tsunade didn't even ask me for my written mission report, she just said Shizune would transcribe my account and compare it with the others. How much of a fit did she throw when that shady bastard tried to swindle her? If we weren't trying to make good ties with them for their medical supplies I would have hooked him on top of a tree and left him there."

"She was pretty mad, she threw her desk out the doors of the Hokage tower. It was kind of a long day for her."

Ino laughed quietly, "Sounds like she's had a rough time. I didn't get a chance to ask last night... how are you doing?"

Sakura shrugged one shoulder and cupped the warm mug of tea between her cold palms. She and Ino had grown so much since they were genin, and Sakura considered her friendship with Ino to be one of her most treasured relationships. She had cried on Ino's shoulder more times than she could remember; and it had been Ino kicking her apartment door in after Sasuke's death, dragging her belongings box by box while Sakura stared wordlessly from the couch that had helped begin her healing process. Their petty fights about boys and power seemed so long ago now.

"It's weird. We heard the fighting along the treaty zone and we knew there was going to be trouble, but to find Kakashi the way he was and then know that it was all some kind of twisted set up? It feels like the Akatsuki all over again. Like we should always be looking over our shoulders."

Ino didn't know about Danzo, nor did she know everything about the situation with Kakashi. As far as Ino, more jounin, and all but select ANBU were concerned; Kakashi's kidnapping had been a set up for the attack on the village, and there was no more information. It left the ominous thought that something was out there looming over people's heads, but that was far better than the alternative. Ino was watching her closely, eyes narrowed in suspicion. Sakura looked over both shoulders, eyes wide.

"What? Is there something on my face?"

If she had been walking around all day with a leaf of spinach in her teeth again, someone was going to have hell to pay for not letting her know. Ino pursed her lips slightly.

"...Kakashi?"

Sakura looked behind her again, making sure the man hadn't suddenly materialized behind her. When all she saw was the living room, she turned back to Ino, not sure where she was going with the line of questioning.

"...yes?"

That seemed like a safe answer for now. Ino disagreed.

"No." Ino said, drawing it out as she cocked an eyebrow, "Since when has it just been Kakashi? Before I left you were still calling him Kakashi-sensei."

Ino had a smug smile tugging at the side of her mouth and Sakura sighed heavily as soon as she realized what Ino was trying to imply "Don't make this something it isn't. Naruto doesn't call him sensei anymore, and he _did_ point out that technically I'm not his student anymore, so the title doesn't fit. We're equals," she said, not bothering to hide the tint of pride colouring her words, "And we address each other as much."

Ino sucked a thick strand of noodle into her mouth, propping her chin onto her hand.

"Well that's less fun than I was hoping for. I thought I'd come back to Konoha and it would be overflowing with gossip."

"Given that you're the one who usually spreads it, I can't say I'm surprised."

Ino touched her chest in faux hurt, "I'm devastated you would consider my quest for knowledge mere _gossip_ , Sakura."

Sakura rolled her eyes and went back to her meal, scraping as much as she could from the bottom of the bowl and ignoring the hungry eyes watching her from under the table. Ino took her empty bowl to the stovetop, refilling it before sitting back down.

"Shikamaru, Chouji and I were going to have dinner tomorrow night, but you're invited if you want to come. Chouji wants to try that weird new place that opened up along the main strip. Shikamaru's paying."

 _I wonder if he knows that_ Sakura thought with a smile.

"I'm actually going to do some training tomorrow night, but Hinata wants to do something when Naruto comes back so I'll head out with you guys then."

"Since when do you train at night?"

"Well..." Sakura paused, reluctant to admit the situation. Ino was a great friend, but the girl thrived on gossip. Even now, Sakura's pause made her light up, eyes wide and a grin creeping on her face.

"...Kakashi and I are actually going to work on some techniques." Sakura finished lamely, ignoring Ino's exuberant punch to the air.

"I _knew_ it!"

"You _know_ nothing! We're friends. We're training. It's nothing. Eat your udon."

"There's no judgement here, Sakura. He looks excellent under those jounin vests, you know," Ino said innocently, slurping at her noodles.

"I know," Sakura agreed immediately, thinking of how he had looked today. Those pants left very little to the imagination, stretched over the taut muscles of his thighs, hugging every asset he had. She realized her mistake in agreeing when Ino began to cackle, head tipped back and shoulders shaking with mirth.

"It's okay, Forehead," Ino finally managed to say between wheezes, "I know there's nothing happening. There's no shame in finding him attractive though, have you _seen_ some of the older jounin? Ooof, that generation was nothing but quality. I think I've definitely looked twice at all of them more than once."

"Even Gai?" Sakura asked dubiously.

Ino's eyes glazed over slightly, a devilish smile creeping across her face. Sakura promptly decided she wasn't going to ask any more questions. There were things she was better off not knowing. Ino's casual teasing sat strangely in her gut; her mind reeling back to this morning when Kakashi had pulled his shirt over his head and she had found herself thinking about how good the hard slope of his chest felt under her hands. She had seen him shirtless so many times, and been his medic often enough that she had touched him before. But the firmness of his muscles; the raised scars from battle on his back rough under the pads of her fingers; it had been an all new experience.

Maybe she would take that jounin up on his offer. She needed a date. She couldn't keep doing this to herself. Just because Kakashi saw her as an equal now meant he saw her as a romantic prospect. She wasn't a heart eyed genin anymore; she was a grown ass woman.

Kakashi did have a spectacular ass though.

* * *

"I assume you're paying. It's only polite, given that you asked me here."

Tsunade levelled him with a flat glare, which Kakashi side stepped by flipping the menu up in front of his face. The restaurant was bustling with the evening traffic of shinobi eating their weight and drinking even more. Tsunade had cornered him on his way home from the cenotaph, her hand firm on his back as she guided him towards the busy diner. The host had seated them at a booth in the back, off in the corner where the light didn't quite reach. If he wasn't being looked at the way he was, this could almost be the beginnings of a romantic date.

"I received your updated file from Sakura; I'm glad to hear you're progressing well. Hana tells me the pups were born a few days ago, congratulations."

Kakashi flicked the pages beneath his thumb, "Thank you. Bisuke is a proud father."

The waitress bowed at Tsunade when she approached the table, addressing her politely as she set a glass of water and a small cup of sake in front of each other them. Kakashi kept quiet after they had both ordered, sipping at his drink and acting nonchalant. Tsunade chatted idly about the weather; the state of the hospital; the ever growing mountains of paperwork. She wasn't exactly selling him on being a Hokage candidate, though he had been assured when he had been nodded for the position that it was only for safety sake. If the village was suddenly forced to place a new Hokage in power some time in the next few years, Naruto wouldn't be ready. Having Kakashi aligned as her successor meant he could guide Naruto into the position, rather than the village falling into the hands of someone without the best interests of Naruto or Konoha at heart. The waitress returned, setting two hot plates of food in front of them. Tsunade's small talk continued; mingling with the background noise of the restaurant as Kakashi began eating. Tsunade was waiting to strike, he could tell. Luring him into a false sense of security before she struck out at the perfect moment. His suspicions were confirmed when the topic at hand switched from sending genin teams on hedge trimming missions to something much more interesting.

"So. Did you kill him?"

Kakashi had expected the question. There was no other reason for the Hokage to invite him out for idle chit chat. If it was bad news, he would be sitting across from her in a private setting, not in a diner surrounded by shinobi and villagers alike. She was making sure he wouldn't do anything drastic if he felt cornered. He sipped from his glass and shook his head.

"No. I thought maybe you had."

He trusted Shizune's medical skills, but everything about the heart attack diagnosis seemed wrong. As much as he placed the faith of the village in her, Tsunade had been his first suspect in Danzo's death. Jiraiya was a close second. He was honored, as macabre as it was, that she had considered him a suspect. Tsunade clicked her tongue and sipped at the sake in her hand, seemingly uninterested in the food in front of her.

"No. But someone did. Concentrated lightning jutsu directly to his heart caused the cardiac arrest. Connection point only as big as a finger tip. So... do we have someone in the village on our side, or do we have a much bigger problem on our hands?"

It was no secret that Danzo had enemies. Even his own ROOT members probably fantasized about the day the man would finally meet his end. Kakashi stuffed a bundle of sprouts into his mouth, keeping his eye locked on Tsunade.

"Jiraiya?" he asked between mouthfuls, keeping his tone neutral and unaccusatory. He wasn't going to question the nature of their relationship, but he had seen Tsunade defend her teammate to the death more than once. It was unlikely to get that dramatic in a room full of people, but he didn't want to get on Tsunade's bad side by accusing someone she cared about of murder.

To his relief, Tsunade shook her head, "He would have told me. Besides, he usually deals in poisons. Subtlety isn't often his style. I was wondering... if you think Sakura may have been involved?"

That was a question he hadn't been expecting. The sprouts slipped the wrong way and he coughed, thudding his chest as his eyes began to water. The thought that Sakura would have killed Danzo seemed too far fetched to even consider, but if Tsunade was asking, there had to be a reason. She waited until he had finished wheezing before she shifted her chair closer to the table, resting her chest on the wood and propping up her elbow.

"I'm sure you've noticed, Hatake.. But Sakura isn't exactly a wilting flower anymore. The reason I ask..." She looked furtively to both side before sighing heavily, "Two years ago, I sent Sakura on a classified mission. Purple scroll."

Kakashi felt his stomach curl into a knot, bile collecting in the very back of his throat. Tsunade ignored his obvious distress and continued.

"The objective was to assassinate the leader of a prominent missing nin collective. They had been riding on the coattails of the Akatsuki, and with them out if the way it looked as though they were preparing to make their mark. The leader had a known... proclivity that Sakura was able to use to her advantage to gain access to their hideout. It needed to be done quickly, and quietly. And it needed to look like an accident. The leader was a high ranked jounin in Iwagakure before he defected, and the Tsuchikage made it known to the other Kage that they wanted him alive. Sakura had brought several of his victims to Konoha several weeks prior, she found them when returning from a scouting mission. Their injuries were," Tsunade's eyes darkened, "memorable. I tried to reason with the Tsuchikage that the shinobi should be disposed of, but he was sure the man could be rehabilitated. I disagreed, and Sakura assured me she could take care of him in a discreet manner."

Kakashi closed his eyes, as though it would block the images from flashing in his mind. Purple scrolls meant failure was not an option. They meant you are expendable and compromising this mission means your death is the only acceptable recourse. A purple scroll meant your body is a tool and we expect you to use it. He had taken many of them in his time as a shinobi, and there were still days when he could feel the grit of ingrained filth on him from the things he had done.

"How did she kill him?"

Kakashi remembered hearing about the man's death in passing. "An accident" they had said. "A lucky accident". A potential shinobi threat had been taken down, and no bad blood had been seeded between villages. Whatever she had done, Sakura had succeeded. Tsunade was smiling, a grim pride etched on her features.

"She distracted him long enough to open a pinprick hole in the crook of his arm, and used a wind jutsu to inject air directly into his veins. The resulting air embolism caused him to have a stroke, which I believe was recorded as the official cause of death when the Tsuchikage located his body only a few hours later. All that was left was a tiny circular bruise on the inside of his arm. Not unlike what Shizune found on Danzo. I was going to bring my question to her directly, but I thought first I would get your opinion of the matter."

Kakashi had his eyes fixed on the table. Sakura's technique was nothing short of amazing; the skill and precision she would have needed to pull off an assassination that covertly wasn't a common asset. But...

"She wouldn't have done it. Sakura of all people knows the value of interrogation. Danzo being dead has only left us with more questions than answers. Even if she had figured out he was taking part in something suspicious, she would have come to you."

 _Or me._

Tsunade seemed pleased by his answer, returning to her food and saying nothing for a long time. He wasn't sure why she would come to him for an opinion, though he had once been her teacher, so had she. Tsunade likely knew more about Sakura than he did at this point. When she spoke again, the pieces clicked into place.

"Not that it's any of my business. But is there anything.. going on between the two of you?"

"No."

He'd answered too quickly. He knew it as soon as the denial left his mouth and Tsunade's lips twitched at the edges. She took a deep drink from her sake and tipped it towards him, eyes wide and innocent.

"Would you lie to a friend?"

Kakashi felt his eye twitch and he held his ground, "Sakura and I have been bonding as friends and teammates after our shared issues. I can assure you there's nothing more than that."

"Hana asked if my slugs get along well with dogs, considering they might have to once Sakura's ninken was ready to leave Kita. The Inuzuka clan are incredibly selective about who they give their ninken to; Jiraiya, Orochimaru and I never made that short list; nor have any of the Hokage. Know anything about that?"

"Sakura was lonely," he admitted. He hadn't thought it would be that obvious that he had pulled favors with the clan to secure a pup for Sakura, "I thought a dog would help. That cat she stole isn't doing her any favors."

Tsunade didn't take the cat bait, only laughed bright and clear. Kakashi could feel his cheeks heating up and he was thankful for his mask. Tsunade's laughing subsided into a tremble of her shoulders.

"She does quite like animals; I think a ninken would be good for her. And as for this friendship the two of you have.."

Kakashi braced for a warning. A threat that if he compromised Sakura's happiness he would be strung up by his thumbs and beaten; that it was inappropriate he become so close to her; that he wasn't deserving of the sheer outpouring of kindness and light she exuded every day.

"You deserve good things." Tsunade finished, the slight wrinkles at the corners of her eyes softening as she smiled. "You've done enough to stop punishing yourself for things nobody else blames you for."

She knocked back the last of her sake, pointedly tilting the empty cup at him before she slapped several ryo on the table top. Kakashi watched her weave her way through the crowded bar, the distinctive silhouette of Jiraiya meeting her outside the door. Kakashi let his head fall, knocking into the heavy wooden slab of the table. Several people looked around in confusion, but he didn't move.

That was definitely not the response he had expected.


	18. Chapter 18

Konohamaru's progress was better than they could have expected, considering the extent of the damage. His speech was still halted and rasping, but he could speak for far longer periods of time with each passing day. Udon was sitting at the end of Konohamaru's bed when Sakura entered, chart in hand.

"Good afternoon, Haruno-san," he greeted, rising to his feet to bow politely. Sakura smiled at him with a shake of her head, moving to the bedside.

"Udon-kun, how many times do I have to tell you to call me Sakura?"

"Ah, don't bother, nee-chan. He always talks to girls like that." Konohamaru said, earning a smack to the face with a pillow from a blushing Udon. Sakura laughed ad she inspected the scar across Konohamaru's neck; the puckered mark slowly receding and the bruising beginning to fade. He would need to stay at least another week, but he was out of the worst. Post surgery, particularly one as intense as he had been through, left shinobi open to all kinds of simple diseases. At least in the hospital they would be able to catch and treat it in time.

"It itches," Konohamaru complained, reaching up to absently scratch the dry and flaked skin. Sakura smacked it away gently and scribbled on the chart. Konohamaru seized her supposed distraction as a chance to try and scratch again, but Sakura forced it down with a chakra infused hand without looking up.

"That means it's healing. Don't pick at it; I'll have one of the nurses bring you a cream to help with the skin. Udon-kun, you've been coming to your check ups I assume?"

Udon nodded, hastily shoving his glasses up the bridge of his nose, "The medics say I'll be field ready by next week, I'm uh-" he looked over to Konohamaru and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, "I'm being reassigned to another team for now. Until Konohamaru and Moegi are back to Team Ebisu. But once they're back to the field we can go on missions again. The Hokage-sama says the switch won't be permanent."

Sakura smiled politely as she adjusted Konohamaru's medications, seeing the way he was curled in on himself on the bed and the occasional flicker of discomfort across his face. Konohamaru wouldn't be approved for anything for at least three months, and Moegi would be at least another four. Team Ebisu was a long way from going on missions together, but she wouldn't kill Udon's spirit. She could still hear them when she left the room, Konohamaru's bright laughter loud enough to carry down he narrow hallways. Some days it was the small comforts that helped settle the lingering nerves that she wrestled with every time she saw a patient that such an extensive injury. It would have been so easy for Konohamaru to have died that day, and yet here he was, laughing as though it had just been a small hurdle in the road.

"I'm off for the day, Shoji-san. Has Himari-san arrived yet?"

The man looked up from the teetering pile of files on his desk, his hair wild and eyes wide.

"Ah, yes. She came in a half hour ago, Haruno-san. I was going to page you but I knew you were on the last of your rounds, so I requested Himari-san early. Two genin teams were sparring without their sensei present and, well-"

He gestured absently with one hand and Sakura nodded in understanding. Better Himari than her, she had definitely had her fill of genin for the week. With Spring in full swing, everyone needed the garden weeded, or their fences painted and gutters scraped clean. There were so many D rank missions that Tsunade was sending chunin out on them, much to their chagrin. The hospital was constantly treating one genin team or another; how they had sustained so many injuries doing mundane village tasks, she had grown tired of asking. She squinted down at the large pile of files and took pity on Shoji. He was fresh out of the civilian clinic, brought in barely a week ago and the nurses were all to happy to take advantage of an extra set of hands. She supposed she had some time before Kakashi would actually show up, it wouldn't take long for her to copy the notes over herself and then file the chart.

"Yo."

Or maybe not.

Sakura smiled and set Konohamaru's chart on the desk with an apologetic smile and a mouthed apology; hearing Shoji's quiet, defeated sigh as he picked it up and tried to set it atop the small tower he had created with knocking everything to the ground.

"Good timing, I just finished. You're actually a little earlier than I expected, I'll just need to change."

Her stomach gurgled loudly, and she blushed, "And find a protein bar or something."

Kakashi reached to the belt of his black jounin pants and offered out a pouch, rustling it at her, "The dogs were concerned if I didn't make a good impression, you wouldn't feed them behind my back anymore. I don't mind waiting, but I brought us an early dinner."

Sakura looked down into the small pouch, seeing a tightly wrapped selection of sandwiches and a thermos tucked between several kunai and skuriken.

"Is that coffee?"

Kakashi pulled the thermos free and cracked the top, letting the warm scent of freshly brewed coffee fill the air.

"...I might love you." Sakura breathed, eyes glazing over at the smell. She hadn't had anything except her morning mug of tea, and a handful of dried raisins. The coffee was dark and richly brewed, the sweetness of the sugar mellowing out the bitter flavour that lingered on the back of her tongue- exactly the way she liked it.

"Are you talking to me or the coffee?"

Sakura cracked open one eye as she drank greedily from the thermos, holding up one finger until the last drops of coffee had trickled down her throat. She sucked in a gasp of air and smiled, her tongue darting out to catch a droplet of liquid she could feel at the corner of her mouth.

"I can love more than one thing," she held out the thermos with a sheepish smile, suddenly aware that it had probably been for the both of them to share, not for her to inhale, but Kakashi said nothing as he tucked it back into his pouch and removed one of the sandwiches.

"I have to admit I didn't make these myself. I'm experiencing some...difficulties with my refrigerator."

Considering the ninken had all cried out in terror when she had tried to open it the night she had made dinner, she wasn't going to ask what kind of difficulties he was experiencing. Combined with the sudden thousand yard stare Kakashi had, she was sure it was a similar situation to the time Naruto had presented her with a fuzzy plate of... something and she had promptly frisbee'ed it out the window in horror. Sakura peered between the soft slices of seeded bread, seeing layers of lettuce and roast beef, and a smear of what looked like mustard. Her stomach gurgled again, this time attracting the attention of a few passing nurses.

"Let me change into my training gear, and I'll meet you in about ten minutes?"

She tried to hand back the sandwich, but Kakashi shook his head and instead handed her the second one.

"Take both, I'll wait outside for you,"

Kakashi was screwing up his nose, and Sakura understood why he would prefer to linger outside. The scent and bright lights of the hospital weren't for everyone, especially most shinobi who only came through the doors not of their own free will. She took the sandwich, silently appreciating that he wasn't going to watch her devour them like a starved woman, and disappeared into the nurses room, ignoring the questionable glances she was getting from her coworkers. It was going to be all over Konoha within the hour that Kakashi had brought her food, and that they were about to leave together. Sakura peeled off her white coat and medic uniform, tossing them somewhere into the depths of her locker. She had packed her training clothes this morning, passing over her standard red attire for more fitted black pants and a high collared shirt similar to what Ino wore, only in a dark shade of navy blue.

Did it reveal a little more skin and fit a little better than her usual outfit?

Yes.

Was she secretly hoping Kakashi would maybe notice?

...also yes?

She slammed her locker shut and stuffed one of the triangles of sandwich into her mouth whole. This was just a training between teammates. She'd show him her technique, they'd spar a little, and then they would both go home and have a good night.

 _Or you could invite him in for some tea and he could fall asleep on your couch and you could fall asleep on him again_

Sakura stuffed another sandwich into her mouth and waved to Shizune, who was flat on her back on the medic couch and mumbling quietly. She had been distracted the last few days, and Sakura was privately sure it had to do with the genetic testing of the Sharingan, but wasn't going to pry. Kakashi was propped up against the wall of the hospital, one leg pressed into the worn stone behind him and his arms folded over his chest.

"Hey! I'm ready. Sorry for the wait."

Was he looking at her weirdly? Was she imagining it? She was probably imagining it.

"I like your outfit," Kakashi said, pushing of the wall and heading in the direction of the training ground, pausing to wait for her while she scrambled after him, cheeks stained rosy.

He noticed her outfit. He liked her outfit.

Hell yeah.

* * *

The rain storms had turned training ground three into a glorified mud pit. The tang of rain still lingered in the air, though the darkest of the cloud cover has shifted well into the distance, leaving a clear sky to stretch out above them, painted with the warm blue of the late afternoon Konoha sun. Sakura stepped over the low chain fence of the grounds, infusing chakra into her feet to keep atop the mud. Apparently the muck hadn't kept anyone from training; there was mud splattered on tree trunks, and deep grooves and craters across the field. The pathway from the grounds was patterned with muddy caked boot prints. He looked down at his only clean outfit and sighed. He was going to have to break the ryo slot on the dryer again; there was no way he was going to have enough clothing to make it until the sunshine returned. Now that she was ahead of him, he let his eyes wander slightly over the change of clothing, feeling a little like a perverted old man. The cropped shirt showed off the hard slope of her stomach, the tight muscles of her abdomen flexing as she moved. Her thighs and calves looked as though they were cut from steel, every step she took showing off the carved muscle. Tsunade hadn't been easy on her, it seemed. He had seen ANBU members with less defined glutes.

He dropped his pouch beside the stump of a demolished tree and cracked his knuckles and neck, turning to face her and suddenly feeling very concerned. She was grinning, but there was something sinister behind the brightness of her smile that made him hesitate. He had seen that look on Tsunade many times before. He felt like a trapped goldfish being watched by a cat licking it's chops.

"So, how would you like to start?"

Sakura smiled never moved as she reached into her back pocket and pulled out a copy of Icha Icha Tactics, and Kakashi suddenly knew what she was doing.

"Well, you'll start with one hundred-no... _two hundred_ push ups. We want to warm up those biceps and shoulder muscles before you start throwing anything. Don't want to pull a muscle. It's like you always told us when we were genin, a prepared shinobi is the best shinobi. That would be the reason you had us doing so many push ups every morning while you watched, right Kakashi?"

She squeezed his bicep and then patted it, wiggling the novel in her hand, "I'll sit on your back and keep count. No cheating."

That was how he ended up on his hands and knees, hovering with chakra above the mud. Sakura was stretched out on his body, her head resting between his shoulder blades.

"So, how long have you wanted to do this?' he asked between the seventieth and eightieth push up, barely breaking a sweat. He heard Sakura laugh and felt her weight shift, her breath warm against the shell of his ear and pink tendrils of hair tickling the side of his cheek as she rolled over.

"I don't know what you mean?"

He rolled his eyes. "Of course you don't."

Two hundred push ups was easy, and almost refreshing after so long not being allowed to do so much as sneeze too hard. But he knew there was no way he was going to get off that easy, especially after some of the things he had put Team 7 through as genin. He would swear it until his dying day that it had all been necessary parts of training. Sakura slipped off his back.

"Next, I think you should work on your aim. You can never be _too_ good at hitting your target. Let's say... fifty throws of a kunai and one hundred of the shuriken? And you need to hit the centre for it to count."

He couldn't help but smile under his mask. Tsunade had really brought out the right little shit in her, and it suited her. Sakura slipped off her light jacket and placed it on a tree stump, crossing one leg over the other and bringing Icha Icha back up to her face.

"Sakura..." he said, unable to control the lilt of laughter that came through.

Sakura looked up from her Icha Icha novel with a devilish grin, eyes wide and innocent, "Ah ah ah. I believe right now the appropriate way to address me would be Sakura- _sensei_. Given that I'm teaching you something."

Kakashi raised his eyebrow and she tossed a kunai to him. He knew everything she was doing had no malicious intent behind it, Sakura wasn't like that. Instead, he was being force fed his own medicine. But if she wanted to be that way... two could play at that game. He took the offered kunai and tossed it one handed, watching it sail right past the target and land somewhere off in the woods. Sakura flicked a page. He took a shuriken and pursed his lips, tossing it in a wide arc towards the target, smiling when it landed with a sloppy suction noise a foot away from the target. Sakura looked up, but said nothing.

"Sensei! I'm struggling."

"That's what practice is for!" she sing songed back at him.

Kakashi smiled and adjusted his stance, putting too much weight on his back leg and dropping his shoulder. His years of training were screaming at him as he reached back his arm- much too far, enough to feel a strain start to tug at his shoulder- and prepared to throw the last shuriken. Before it had even left his palm, he heard a screech from behind him and a glowing green hand caught his.

"What are you _doing?_ Do you have any idea how terrible your posture is right now? You're going to knock something out of place doing it like that!"

"Oh?"

Sakura's defeated glare was worth the twinge of irritation in the joint of his shoulder.

"You're no fun."

She healed his shoulder with a quick pass of her hand before she pulled out her own set of shuriken, tossing one up into the air and catching it by the point between two fingers.

"I showed you how to do it last time, but I'll go over it again. If you use your sharingan, you'd probably pick it up first try."

Kakashi shook his head and kept his hitai-ate pulled low over his eye, "relying on the sharingan to copy jutsu and techniques is useful in battle, when the person I'm copying isn't likely to take the time to teach me. But we both have time, I'd much rather you show me how you perfected it."

Was she blushing?

Sakura cleared her throat and held the shuriken out in an open palm. As she explained the technique, he remembered how incredibly simple it was in theory, but saw the difficulty in execution. Infusing chakra into things was simple, even genin could produce rudimentary chakra-based projectiles. But Sakura's technique took the simplicity of brute force and combined it with the grace of a stealth attack. She had explained it to him well that night on the training grounds, which felt so long ago now. Even the slightest tip of chakra in either direction would throw off the perfect balance and ruin the technique. When the shuriken left her palm, he watched as it sailed in a perfect line to the large red circle, exploding on impact and sending shards of wood into the air.

"I mean, it's not really anything special," she said, rummaging for another shuriken, "I'm working on some actual jutsus that use my chakra control," she tapped the seal on her forehead, "but they're not ready yet."

"I wouldn't say it isn't special," Kakashi said, testing the weight of his kunai in his hand, trying to decide roughly how much chakra to infuse, "Being able to determine the weight and efficiency of something as a projectile; calculating the distance to the target; controlling your chakra to an exact degree... it all works together to bring a technique to life."

He let his chakra wind around the blade and threw it, watching as it exploded before it reached the target. His next few tries were similar, the concentrated chakra exploding too soon or too late, never quite finding the right balance. Sakura's, however, landed perfectly every time, and he felt a swell of pride when they did. Sakura chattered away while they trained; talking about the hospital, and what most of the Rookie Nine was up to. He thought about the conversation he had with Tsunade, but bit his tongue to keep from bringing it up. He did find himself wondering how many missions she had been on that he knew nothing about. He had never taken an eagle eye to hers or Naruto's comings and goings from the village, but the more he thought back, the more empty spaces he found.

He felt Sakura's hand gently press to the underside of his arm, lifting it barely a fraction. She was an excellent teacher, regardless of what she believed. She was quiet but firm, correcting his position and aim; offering pointers about weight and chakra distribution. The sun had set a long time ago by the time he finally managed to get it right; the target shattering to pieces as the shuriken landed perfectly. Sakura's whoop of excitement made him laugh, watching her bounce up and down beside him with sheer unadulterated joy a better feeling than finally nailing the technique.

"I knew you'd get it!"

He smiled and headed over to collect the weapons that had ended up strewn around the targets, blown off in different directions, and some shattered to pieces by the force of too much chakra.

"Did you have anything else in mind for the evening?" he asked casually, trying to think of anywhere that would be open and not crowded with people at this time of night. He didn't relish the idea of going out in public, but he didn't feel like ending the night just yet.

"Well, it's gotten kind of late. We could head back. or..." she trailed off and Kakashi's mind filled with thoughts of what she could be insinuating. Had she gotten closer? She was definitely closer.

"Think fast."

Her hands were on his chest and then he was falling, the squelch of cold mug against his back forcing a strange noise between a squeal and a grunt out of him. Sakura was laughing, hands clutched to her stomach as she doubled over and cackled.

"You should see your _face,_ " she hiccuped between laughter. Kakashi smiled, sliding his hand into the thick, muddy dirt.

"I'm sure it's almost amusing as yours?"

"Eh?"

The mud projectile hit her squarely in the face, ending her laughter and bringing his own. He pulled himself up out of the mud in time to dodge a projectile, Sakura already balling more mud into her hands to throw again.

"I _just_ washed my hair!"

"I bought Pakkun some new shampoo if you'd like to borrow it." he replied innocently.

Sakura's eyes narrowed, and then she was hurtling towards him, the full weight of her body slamming into his and throwing them both across the grounds, mud splashing up around them. It was in his ears, oozing through his scalp, and creeping down the neck of his shirt. But Sakura was laughing against his chest, her hands up under his shirt and smearing mud along his stomach. He flipped her over and into the mud, hearing her screech as the chill splattered her back and stomach.

"Mercy?" he teased, watching as her eyes shone with pride. She tilted her chin and smacked a glob of mud into his hair, jumping to her feet and hollering out a warped battle cry.

"NEVER!"

That was how Yamato found them a half hour later, flashlight flicking between the both of them as he stared in disbelief.

"There were reports of..." he glanced down at the paper in his hand, "Two unidentified shinobi having a mud fight, and screams of terror."

"That was Kakashi," Sakura supplied, well composed despite being covered in mud. Kakashi tried to clear out his ears, shaking his head and sending mud spraying everywhere.

Yamato blinked at them both and sighed.

"Don't let it happen again,"

He was already walking away, glancing back only to give Kakashi his trademark 'you _will_ explain why you make my life this difficult' stare. Sakura was shaking with suppressed giggles and she tried in vain to wipe the mud from her face.

"So, ah... truce?"

She held out her hand and Kakashi took it, the mud between them slurping and making them both laugh.

"Can I walk you home?"

Sakura squeezed the dirty water from her hair and smiled at him, "Yeah... that'd be nice."

As they made their way in the direction of her apartment, Kakashi breathed out, long and deep. It had been a long time since he felt this relaxed. A long time since it felt like all of the weight had been lifted from his shoulders. A long time since he felt... he turned to Sakura, catching a proper glance at her under the streetlights.

Like he was home.

* * *

If Ino was home, she was going to be in so much trouble.

The hose spluttered to life and she sighed, beginning to wash her feet and legs. As long as she could make it from the back door to the bathroom without leaving any evidence, Ino would never even know. Kakashi, on the other hand... she looked back at the blob of brown behind her and smiled sheepishly.

"It's only cold water. I use it for my plants. Are you sure you don't want to use my shower?"

Kakashi took the hose and held it over his head, the caked mud and dirt dripping away, "I'll be fine, but thank you. I should probably get back though."

He scrubbed some of the water through his hair and rinsed his face, swishing some of the water in his mouth before spitting it out onto the grass. She stopped the flow of water and he shook his head again, just like she'd seen the ninken do on so many occasions. As he began to walk away, a thought popped into her head.

"Goodnight, Sakura."

 _Don't overthink it, just do it. You've got this. Just do it. You're both adults and it's not weird. You do it to Naruto all the time._

"Kakashi...?"

"Mmm?"

He was half way down the pebbled path, turned back to her and illuminated in the moonlight. Sakura sank her teeth into the inside of her cheek, knowing if she held out for even a second longer she'd never be able to bring herself to do it. Her silence amused him, she could see the crinkle of his eye and knew she was smiling under the mask.

 _Do it do it do it_

"I... had a good time."

"So did I. I stand by my opinion that you'd make an excellent genin sensei one day."

She could feel the heat of her cheeks at the compliment, and scolded herself for behaving like a school girl. She was making this into something it wasn't. Before she could let herself make more excuses, Sakura darted down the path, slipping one hand up to Kakashi's masked cheek and standing up on the tips of her toes to press a gentle kiss to his bare cheek. His skin was warm and surprisingly soft under the prickle of stubble that tickled her lips. She pulled back as quickly as she had come forward, the hand on his covered cheek lingering for a moment as she caught his eye and smiled.

"That was a thank you," she babbled, suddenly overcome with a wash of panic and exposure, "For the coffee. And the sandwiches? And for the training. Which was good."

Why was she allowed to open her mouth?

Kakashi blinked down at her a few times before he spoke, though his silence felt like a never ending free fall into total embarrassment.

"Oh. Well... you're welcome. Maybe we could do it another time?"

"Yes!" she burst out, thankful that he seemed unfazed by the kiss. It was purely affection. Just like she shared affection with Naruto.

Kakashi waved his hand and disappeared down the path, the darkness seeming to swallow him whole as he left, only the slow creak of her gate letting him know when he was gone. She smacked a hand to her forehead.

"Idiot... idiot idiot idiot... you damn idiot. Jeez."

If there was anything she knew for sure, it was that she was definitely crushing on Kakashi. Everything about tonight had felt different, from the packed dinner to the impromptu cheek kiss. With Naruto, Lee, or even Shikamaru on the odd occasion, the affectionate gestures they shared never gnawed at her gut like an untamed fire. She didn't replay the feeling of their hands on her skin, or the feeling of their skin under her lips for a purely platonic kiss on the cheek. She didn't _ever_ get distracted during training by how incredibly...sexy they looked covered in sweat and gasping for breath.

"UGH!"

Sakura picked up a pebble and tossed it into the garden, hearing it smash and shatter against one of the cement walls. Why couldn't she just like someone normal for once?

It took almost an hour to scrub all of the dirt from her scalp, and another half hour before she had properly cleaned out under her fingernails. Hopefully Pig didn't need any hot water when she came back from dinner, because it was running lukewarm against her bare back before she stepped out. She pulled her orange pyjamas shirt over her head and crawled between her covers, rolling over to stare out her window at the late night lights of Konoha. She wondered what Kakashi was doing right now, and promptly shook her head.

"Pull yourself together." she whispered, punching the pillow with a little more aggression than necessary.

Her bed was warm and soft and she let herself relax against it, feeling the mattress sink beneath her as she curled up.

Acutely aware that there wasn't a comforting weight of someone beside her.

* * *

"Sakura-chan... hey..."

"Nnngh."

"Sakura-chaaaan."

Sakura grunted and opened one eye, a blurry haze of orange filling her vision before she screwed up her nose, "Naruto, you _reek._ "

It was a bit of an exaggeration, but he certainly wasn't clean by any standards. She could smell dirt mingled with sweat; and the earthy scent of leaves clinging to him.

"I just got back, I wanted to make sure you were okay. I went to the hospital but they said it was too early for visitors so I thought I would come and see you instead."

Sakura groped blindly for her alarm clock, squinting at it for a moment before she sighed and rubbed her eye with the heel of her hand, "Naruto it's four thirty in the morning, of course it's too early for visitors."

Naruto shrugged and began pulling off his dirty travelling clothes, hopping on one foot to remove his sandals before letting them fall to the ground. Sakura watched specks of sand scatter across her floor and she couldn't help but smile, despite knowing she would definitely need to do some cleaning later. She felt the cool chill of the morning air sweep up under the cover as he climbed in, immediately trying to press his cold feet against her thighs.

"Nyyahhh, get away!"

"But you're so waaaarm, Sakura-chan,"

He tucked his even colder hands into the crook of her neck and she screeched, squirming away and almost falling off the bed. When she gathered herself, Naruto had made himself at home in the dent where she had been sleeping, hands folded behind his head and his trademark grin plastered on his face. Sakura curled up beside him, using far more elbow than necessary to make herself comfortable.

"How was Suna?"

"I'm not technically supposed to tell you anything until I talk to Baa-chan... but you're not gonna tell anyone and I'll see her in a few hours so I don't think she'll mind. Suna was _so hot_ Sakura-chan, I was _melting_ the whole time I was there. And the Summit, wow, I didn't know that most of the Kages were a bunch of stuffy old bastards."

"Naruto!"

"Well they are! All they did was complain about trade routes and whine that other villages were doing better than them. When I tried telling them about the medic program Baa-chan wanted to start, they just said it wasn't worth any time. And any time Mei-sama would try and talk they treated her like she wasn't important or anything! Baa-chan gave me a whole list of things to talk about and they just sat there with their faces all old and grumpy," he made a face that Sakura assumed was wildly exaggerated, his lips curled down in a frown but his eyes bulging and wide. Naruto continued, clearly on a roll, "When I'm Hokage, I'm never going to act like that. I'm going to be fair to everyone, and if another Kage wants to offer help to my village, I'll always consider it."

A frown had creased on his brow by the time he had finished, but he shook his head and smiled, "How are things here? Is everyone okay? Is Konohamaru and Moegi and Udon better? Did they catch anyone yet?"

"The three of them are as fine as they can be, considering the circumstances. They'll be happy to see you. Once you've showered," she said pointedly, "They haven't caught anyone yet, but... there's a lot of stuff you've missed since you've been gone."

Naruto scooted closer to her, bringing the blanket up to their chins and looking at her with his wide, earnest blue eyes.

"Ne, Sakura-chan... we trust each other right?"

"Of course, Naruto. Why?"

He was chewing on his lip, and Sakura was struck with concern until he finally spoke.

"I need to tell Baa-chan; she's gonna be mad I didn't tell her when I first got to Suna but I didn't want to make things bad here. The Tsuchikage... he kept trying to make people think she was a bad Hokage. He was saying he thinks she's trying to start a war; and that she's been doing lots of stuff in secret. Iwa is missing over a dozen shinobi from missions on the border, and he thought Baa-chan was to blame. Gaara and Mei-sama and I were telling people it wasn't true and I think they believed us, but I think Baa-chan ought to know. I'm going to tell her as soon as I see her this morning."

"I think she might already know," Sakura admitted, "Jiraiya is here, I think he mentioned that he heard some rumors while he was in Earth that Tsunade-sama wasn't as trustworthy as they thought. He thinks that maybe Kakashi's kidnapping was staged on treaty zone soil to make people nervous and feel unsafe."

Naruto's eyes had lit up at the mention of his mentor, but darkened with the new knowledge. His hands fisted the soft blankets and Sakura laid her hand over his comfortingly.

"Tsunade-sama would never take part in things like that- we know it, and so do most people. If anyone came for her, she would be safe. Just tell her what you know and I'm sure she'll be fine."

She was going to be furious. Konoha had done more than enough favors for Iwagakure in the past. Admittedly, the original mission she and Kakashi had been sent on that ended in tragedy had been to intercept an Iwa informant that alleged underhanded behaviour. As far as she knew, nothing had been heard from the informant since the mission failure, and Sakura didn't want to dwell on the thoughts of what might have happened to him if he had been caught. It was likely he had been trying to warn them of the Tsuchikage's intentions, but now they would never know. Regardless, she was sure Tsunade and Jiraiya would handle it. Naruto wiggled in the bed, squishing pillows into place and bouncing around to get comfortable. The tension in the room dissipated as he leaned towards her, head propped onto his elbow and another smile plastered on his face.

"The outside of the village looks terrible, ne? All those craters everywhere, and the exploded trees. The guards told me the attacker was hiding in the tree, that's why they had to cut it down. I remember I climbed it when we were genin. Do you remember the time I fell out and broke my leg?"

Sakura smiled, "You mean do I remember the day we were trying to catch Tora and Sasuke went up into the tree and found him and _you_ were mad that he was going to get the credit so you went up there and tried to wrestle Tora from him and then you fell out of the tree and broke your leg and Tora got away _again?_ Yes, I suppose I vaguely remember that day."

Naruto's smile was so earnest and bright, it was almost impossible for her not to smile back at him.

"We had good times, didn't we Sakura-chan?"

The words pulled at her heartstrings, but she continued to smile. She tilted her head to look at him, suddenly overwhelmed by the knowledge that so many, yet at the same time so little, years had passed since they were wild genin wanting to make a difference. The round fullness of his cheeks and jaw were now sharp angles and firm lines; his cheeky grin had remained almost unchanged, save for an almost understanding softness at the curl of his lips. It was almost uncanny, she noted, how much he looked like his father. And he didn't even know it.

"We had some great times, Naruto."

They lapsed into silence, broken eventually by the rumbling snores falling out of Naruto's open and drooling mouth. She could see the sunrise beginning to peer over the horizon, ready to spill though her windowsill within the hour. The rain seemed to have gone for now, letting the last several weeks of Spring continue unhindered. Her desire for sleep was long gone now, replaced with another low feeling of uneasiness in her gut.

There was something wrong. She could feel it in her bones, but there was nothing she could do about it. Something was coming, and she didn't know if they would be able to stop it.

* * *

A/N- Big thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! I hope you enjoyed this feel good chapter, and just a heads up that there won't be an update next week. I'm going overseas for a wedding and I'm in the bridal party, so I won't have a chance to get much writing done. But once I come back.. the plot... it will thicken. Any thoughts on the big bad?


	19. Chapter 19

He took the stairs up to his apartment two at a time, humming under his breath and ignoring the thick cakes of dried mud that were shedding off him like a second skin. The cheek where Sakura had pressed her lips was burning with the imprint; and the tingling rush of something deep in his gut was feeding into the thrum of his heart. He felt like a genin after their first mission- he needed to pull himself together before he started making heart eyes and swooning.

"Hey, Kakashi- what the hell?"

Genma had his arm slung around Shizune's waist, clearly heading out to take part in some of the late night Konoha nightlife. Shizune was looking him over with wide eyes and he propped himself casually against the wall of the stairwell, flashing a peace sign.

"Yo. Sorry about the mess. I had to catch a rogue squirrel."

"...of course you did." Genma drawled, stepping forward and catching something between his thumb and forefinger from the front of Kakashi's muddied flak jacket. He held it to their eye level in the light, the sly grin stretching over his face as he cocked an eyebrow. Even in the dim lighting of the stairwell, the cotton candy coloured strand of hair shone bright. Kakashi pursed his lips.

"Ah, right. Sakura was helping."

Genma nodded slowly, "She was helping you...catch the rogue squirrel?"

"...yes?"

Genma flicked the strand to the ground and slid his arm back around Shizune, who had the decency to cover her smirk with an open palm. Kakashi waved as they made their way down the stairs, Shizune's lilting laughing echoing back up at him. He knocked his forehead against the wall, muttering angrily to himself before he continued up the stairs. Pakkun was stretched out on the couch, waiting patiently when Kakashi swung the door open, already tearing the sticking, soaked clothing from his body. The shower creaked and groaned in protest before sputtering several times, sending jets of icy water ricocheting off the tiles. The door he had carelessly swung closed without clicking into place opened just a fraction, Pakkun's nose poking through the gap.

"Is this some human thing I don't understand? I thought dates were meant to be fancy."

Faced with interrogation from his nosy pug or tepid water, Kakashi chose the latter. It wasn't the first time he'd subjected this poor shower to a muddied clean up; this time he would just have to remember to make sure none of the more sturdy pieces of muck ended up in the plumbing. He was lucky the old woman who owned the building had no way to prove it was him who'd caused the two week water backup and subsequent overflow to the entire building or he might have been out on his ass. He was tempted to correct Pakkun's comment about the evening being a date, but the longer he thought about it, he wasn't sure. He hadn't ever had a sparring session end in a mud fight; not since his genin days at least. And he certainly didn't kiss his training partners goodbye at the end of the night. Sakura's stammered, panicked explanation of the gesture had wedged a thorn of second guessing in his mind. But she'd also agreed to doing it again sometime.

"Boss?"

Kakashi threw a clump of muddied grass over the glass door, hearing it hit the tiled floor with a wet splat. Pakkun's face was blurred, his snout pressed directly to the glass and eyes wide. Kakashi sighed.

"Yes, Pakkun?"

"She's a good one, that girl. I think you'd be good for her."

Kakashi buried his hands into the thick strands of wet hair that had plastered to his face, feeling a twisted knot of grass rip free before it too went over the door.

"I'm old enough to be her father, Pakkun."

Pakkun plopped himself on the floor outside the shower, legs sprawled out behind him, "So? She's an adult now. Jiraiya's always datin' girls younger than him."

Kakashi pushed the door open, ignoring the dirty water dripping from his forehead that began to pool on the floor, "Firstly, refrain from ever comparing me to him in any way but shinobi ability. Secondly... get me that kunai."

Pakkun trotted over to the door, nosing his way through the wet pile of clothes until he found what he was looking for.

"mjustshayin..."

Kakashi plucked the weapon from Pakkun's teeth and let the door close in his face, going to work at the caked mud under his fingernails with the blade. Undeterred, Pakkun pushed his face against the door again.

"The boys an' I have spent a lot of time with her and sometimes she forgets that she needs help too y'know? She's always tryin' to help everyone and she doesn't always take care of herself, kinda like you. But you both wanna take care of each other so if you two were packmates then you'd both be taken care of. Maybe you gotta stop acting like you're the only person who did bad stuff they wanna forget about."

Kakashi hissed when the sharp edge of the kunai dug a little too deep, drawing an ooze of blood that was caught up in the roar of water and washed away with the swathes of dirt. Pakkun didn't seem fazed by his lack of a response as he left, leaving the door wide open behind him. Kakashi scraped the last of the dirt from below his thumb and sighed, letting his forehead rest on the wall. His leg hair was matted with drying mud; he could feel a grind of sand against the crease of his thigh under his ass; and he was resolutely not thinking about how much muck was located in...other regions of his body. And yet.

He thought of Sakura's hand on his chest when she had pushed him; the sheer delight in her eyes as she laughed. How unrestrained she had been around him tonight; it felt as though he was seeing a new side of her he had never considered.

The water was running cold on his back by the time he was clean. The drain was making a suspicious gurgling noise, but Kakashi hummed as he dragged a rough towel across his face, unable to wipe away the smile that was now cemented there.

* * *

"BAA-CHAN!"

Tsunade jolted awake as the door to her office slammed open with enough force to knock it back against the wall. Her flailing limbs caught the half empty bottle of sake on her desk, sending it flying to the floor where the contents began to gurgle lazily across the hardwood. Jiraiya was still sprawled on the windowseat, mouth open and snoring, unfazed by the sudden interruption. Maybe his hearing wasn't selective and all those years of Tsunade beating him around the head were starting to take their toll. That or his years of training with Naruto had made him impervious to the aggressive excitement and lack of volume control he oozed in every day life. Tsunade blinked the sleep from her eyes and squinted at the blur of orange making a beeline for her, a gleam of white teeth and yellow hair.

"Ne, Baa-chan, it's almost eight in the morning, why are you still sleeping?"

Tsunade smoothed her hands over her face, squishing her cheeks together and feeling the crackle of her dry lips as they broke under the stress. Maybe she and Jiraiya should have turned in early and not broken open those last few bottles of sake. Naruto had wandered past her, looming over Jiraiya's still-sleeping figure with a look of deep-seeded pleasure. He crouched down to Jiraiya's level, his lips barely brushing against the shell of his ear. Tsunade braced herself, one hand groping for the tall glass of water Shizune had left the night before.

"ERRO SENNIN!"

Jiraiya, to his credit, only jumped roughly a foot. Naruto's crow of pleasure brought a half smile to Tsunade's face, along with the pain groan and dark mutterings from Jiraiya as he rubbed his forehead. Tsunade rapped her nail on the desk and smoothed the wrinkles in her pants.

"Mission report?"

Naruto puffed his chest out and grinned, "I did all the things you asked me to' and Gaara and Mei-sama told me to tell you that Suna and Kiri are willing to make a deal with Konoha for trade and education. Suna needs more medics for the summer and they're willing to give us access to their plant lab thing for the whole time our medics are there to see how they make their antidotes."

The corner of Tsunade's lip quirked at the casual terminology used for one of the shinobi nation's largest and curated collection of rare flora, but she didn't interrupted. Naruto pursed his lips and wiggled one finger, clearly trying to remember what else he had to report.

"Oh! The Raikage made a trade deal with Kumo to Iwa and he wanted Konoha to establish a designated trade route for it past Konoha but neither of them were willing to offer anything in return for such close contact with the village so I said no that they can take the regular passage through the north of Fire Country like they were going to. They weren't happy but you said I would need to make some decisions myself and I think they want us to work really hard to make them a special trade route they should at least give us something."

A little knot of pride tightened in Tsunade's chest. She had full confidence in him, or she would never have sent him as the Konoha representative to the Summit. But to know he so confidently made choices he did, with such an open heart and the best interests of Konoha at heart, she had no reservations for him one day becoming Hokage.

"Ne, Baa-chan?"

Tsunade's eye twitched at the name, but she sucked her teeth and smiled, inviting him to continue. He rubbed a hand across the back of his neck and Tsunade was struck with the memory of Minato doing the same, sheepishly apologizing for his drunk sensei loudly proclaiming her breasts ' _the best in the village'_ before he had dragged him home. Naruto twiddled his fingers.

"The Tsuchikage was a right bastard, he said you had a big secret you weren't telling me."

Tsunade stiffened in her chair, hoping Naruto didn't heat the crack of splintering wood as she gripped the underside of her desk. Jiraiya's sharp intake of breath sounded like a loud roar of wind in her ears, though in reality it was likely barely audible as Naruto didn't even flinch. Tsunade cleared her throat and smiled, feeling the stretch of her teeth against her lips with the force.

"I'm Hokage, Naruto. I'm sure there's a lot of things I'm not telling you, mostly because they aren't related to you. That's part of the business of being Hokage. I can't go around telling everyone everything."

There was, really, any number of things the Tsuchikage could have meant. Konoha had taken part in a number of morally questionable missions over her years as Hokage; maybe he was hoping to discredit her in Naruto's eyes. But the more likely, more unfortunate scenario meant that Naruto had come within a hair's breadth of finding out what had truly happened the night the kyuubi attacked, and who his parents had been. It was no secret that the Sandaime and the Tsuchikage had their differences, but they also had more than once indulged beyond their limits in sake. It was also not hard for many people to connect the dots when it came to Naruto Uzumaki's ancestry, though few wanted to be the ones to alert him to it for fear of punishment by enraging the jinchuuriki. She was beginning to realize, however, that the Tsuchikage was exactly the kind of person to pull on a loose thread in Naruto's mind, just to let him unravel it.

"He said Hokage's can't just be willing to die for their villages, that they've got to do all kinds of other bad stuff for their village. He said it's easy to die for something," Naruto pressed the very tips of his index fingers together, a softness easing into his eyes as he looked over both Jiraiya and Tsunade, "I don't care what he said, though. You guys are great shinobi, and he's just trying to make me doubt you because he doesn't like me. Mei-sama said he doesn't like her or Gaara either. When I'm Hokage I'm not going to become a grumpy old bastard."

Naruto's bright smile returned, and he hopped from foot to foot as he dug around in his pocket before pulling Gama-chan free.

"Ne, Ero-sennin, you can repay me for that money I gave you before you left. Or with ramen! Yeah, we could go get ramen and I can show you the updated Sexy no Jutsu!"

Jiraiya poked around in his own money pouch, which Tsunade knew was stuffed full of her money from the night before. She should never gamble with Jiraiya, he knew her far too well.

"Mmm, I suppose a bowl of ramen wouldn't hurt. Why don't you head down to Ichiraku, I'll follow you."

Naruto was out the door in a blur of orange, his excited crows about a free ramen meal echoing in the halls. The desk under Tsunade's hands cracked in two with an ear splitting snap, splinters of wood spearing into the soft flesh of her palms. Jiraiya's hand landed heavy on her shoulder but she grit her teeth, swallowing the growl that threatened to burst out.

"You look like you're about to start foaming at the mouth. The Tsuchikage could have been bluffing, there's no guarantee he knows-"

"Anyone with two braincells to rub together knows, dammit!"

The desk half in her hand sailed across the room, skidding on the floor before crashing against the wall.

"I'm not keeping it from him because _I_ feel it's necessary, Jiraiya! Do you think I don't see him every day and watch him become the spitting image of Minato? If I had my way, _everything_ in this village would be done differently, but we have to think about the kyuubi. If he finds out at the wrong time, at the wrong _moment_ -"

Jiraiya's hands were cradling her cheeks, the warmth of his lips pushing softly to her forehead.

"I know you would rather he know. He's close enough to controlling himself for us to consider it an option now. But with what happened with Sasuke, I thought maybe he didn't need two life altering situations so close together."

Tsunade pursed her lips and turned her head away from him, staring out the window and up at the carved face of the Yondaime.

"Go buy him ramen. I have paperwork. Tell the chunin at the end of the hall I need a new desk by lunchtime."

* * *

Kakashi crouched to his knees, the fistful of wildflowers he held finding their home against the base of the heavy granite headstone bearing Rin's name. He cleared his throat and scrubbed his thumb absently at some of the caked and drying mud from the storm.

"It's been a little while, unfortunately. Sometimes I get the chance to see Obito when I'm already at the training ground, but I'll make more of an effort to come out here. I could tell you I've been busy but I'm sure you'd know it's mostly a lie. Only mostly this time though. I've been spending a lot of time, well... there's someone in my life right now. My old student, I've talked about her a lot. We've been spending some time together."

He could see Rin in his mind, the way she had lit up with adoration when Minato had pressed kisses to Kushina's forehead and cheeks when she brought them lunch during training. The tears of joy wet on her cheeks when she had dragged Team Minato to a midday showing of some romantic film for her birthday and Obito's snoring had caused them to almost get kicked out. If Rin were here now he could almost imagine her bursting with excitement to hear more about what was going on. He sat down in the grass, ignoring the cold seep of the dewy morning that pressed against the fabric of his clothes.

"It's complicated a little, I guess. The ninken love her though, I think maybe even a little more than me. She makes me feel..."

He paused, frowning at the intricately carved letter of Rin's name.

"...alive?"

Kakashi caught the hem of his sleeve with his fingers and pulled it up, swiping it one last time over the dulled silver plate to clear away the last of the grime.

"Anyway, don't get too excited. I'm not sure where it's going right now; there's an awful lot happening around here these days."

The sun crept across the sky as he spoke to her, watching the trees throw shadows over the neat rows of grey slabs. He lapsed in and out of silence, offering small tidbits of his life that he thought Rin might enjoy. He was part way through a graphic description of a wart he had seen at the onsen earlier in the week when a soft rustle perked his hearing.

"We didn't mean to disturb you, Kakashi-san. Mirai just wanted to say hello."

The girl in question was clinging to hr mother's leg for dear life; wide red eyes peering curiously around the fabric of Kurenai's soft trousers. The resemblance to Asuma was beginning to get uncanny. The bundled flowers in Kurenai's hand pulled at his chest, knowing they were likely on their way to Asuma's headstone when they had seen him here. Kakashi waved off the apology with a gentle hand.

"Maa, it's no trouble to ever hear from such a lovely young lady. How are you today, Mirai?"

The girl sucked in a sharp breath, shocked at being addressed directly. She wiggled a small, stuffed fish plushie in the air and smiled, though kept quiet. Kurenai smoothed her hand over Mirai's unruly pigtails and laughed quietly.

"We just came from the hospital, Mirai needed some allergy testing. She was so good that Haruno-san gave her a toy."

Kurenai's eyebrow quirk was enough for Kakashi to know that she had heard something interesting, but he kept his expression neutral. His usual squad members meant well, and he knew Kurenai had no ill intentions with her comment. He stood up and brushed off his knees, offering Mirai a wink and chuckling as she squeaked and ducked back behind her mother.

"She's quite an excellent doctor, that Haruno-san. I'm sure she was very impressed with how good you were, Mirai. I'm actually headed over that way myself."

Kurenai's smile turned soft as she bent down to swoop her daughter up into her arms, the bright squeal of laughter making Kakashi smile beneath his mask. Kurenai came closer, clearing her throat.

"I'm sure you're getting a lot of unsolicited advice, Kakashi-san, and trust me... I know all about it." she bopped Mirai on her hip pointedly, "But let me just say... it's nice to see you looking so happy."

Kakashi smiled again before he tapped the side of his neck gently, tilting his head towards her.

"You too, Kurenai-san."

She blushed a shade lighter than her eyes and let a hand come up to cover the tiniest patch of bruised skin on her neck, an almost perfect match, Kakashi was sure, to the mouth of a jounin he had seen her with lately. Kurenai bowed, and Mirai whispered a shy goodbye through the mouth of her stuffed fish. As the two disappeared between the headstones, Kakashi cast one last glance down at Rin's, crouching to rearrange the flowers and dust away some flurries of pollen.

"Maybe I'll bring her out here to meet you one day. I think the two of you would get along far too well. I'll come back tomorrow."

He gave the flowers one last shift, tucking them flush against the cold stone before pushing his hands into his pockets as he wandered out of the cemetery. He hadn't intended on seeing Sakura today, but a trip to the hospital couldn't hurt. Maybe he would stop by the bakery and bring her a chocolate croissant.

"Boss?"

Kakashi cast his eye down at Pakkun, who had poofed into existence by his feet. His hopes of seeing Sakura were immediately dashed, shoulders slumping in defeat.

"What is it, Pakkun?"

"Genma told us to remind you that you were s'posed to be helping him with his apartment four hours ago. He told us a coupla hours ago but I figured you'd be busy but you might wanna go."

Kakashi sighed. He could always suggest he and Sakura get dinner together instead.

And then Genma would owe him a favor.

The possibilities of that were endless.

* * *

The last of the rain had been swept from the sky by the crisp breeze of spring, chasing it away and into the looming mountains. With any luck, that's where it would stay until the chill of fall drew it back in to leech the village of it's greenery before winter. Tsunade was looking forward to summer; iced beverages on the balcony, the scorch of the sun burning its way over her skin. That was, she _would_ be looking forward to the summer, once she managed to catch a break. Tsunade pressed the tips of her fingers together and sighed, her tired eyes meeting Jiraiya's before they cast back down to the scroll in front of her.

"After you and Naruto left, I wrote down everything both of you had heard in regards to my supposed involvement in starting a war."

She saw Jiraiya's gaze sweep over the desk; a mound of crumpled paper and broken pens.

"And?"

Tsunade's mouth curled up into a wry smile. "I think if I didn't know any better... I just might be."

She turned the scroll to Jiraiya and tapped her finger against the three inked names, "I started with the missing shinobi. Honestly, with how the defector rates have been skyrocketing across all the villages lately, I wasn't giving them much thought. It ebbs and flows with all the villages; shinobi think they're stronger than they are, or that somehow the morals of the village are beneath them and they leave. Then they end up skewered on the end of a kunai and the message gets across until everyone forgets again. But then I went through the correspondence, and I noticed something. These three Iwa shinobi went missing in action the same week I was conducting business in Earth country. No bodies were ever recovered. All jounin, all masters in their fields." She slid her finger down, "not long after that, the Tsuchikage reported that several scrolls containing sensitive information of kekkei genkai within the village had been subject to an attempted breach. While I was still in Earth."

"Coincidence." Jiraiya grunted, one shoulder rising and falling with an aura of casual dismissal. Tsunade cocked an eyebrow and flicked the page.

"Three weeks later; I granted a four man squad from Iwa permission to enter the Konoha boundary in search of a missing civilian evading capture for medical crimes involving grave robbing and experimentation. They disappeared. The Tsuchikage insinuated foul play on Konoha's behalf, but without their bodies there was no way for him to prove it, and he declined my invitation to search for them. The Konoha scouts had come in contact with them shortly before their disappearance, and they were headed to a known problem area for missing nin; so I dismissed it."

She smoothed the second scroll, stained with what was probably sake, out under her palms.

"Prior to the Summit, all of the Kages agreed to share information about any unknown shinobi sighted in their area in case we noticed an overlap. Six weeks ago, a civilian village within Earth made several reports of suspicious activity by an assumed kunoichi. Tall. Blonde. Minimal information to go on, but they made reports of murdered animals; stolen supplies; and 'various unnatural occurrences'. It didn't overlap with any other reports, and the complaints ceased shortly after."

"A lot of kunoichi are blonde and behave weirdly, Tsunade. I could name a dozen right now."

Tsunade ignored him.

"Kumo mentioned in a letter that after locating and interrogating one of their missing nin; he mentioned that even if they tortured him for information, nothing they would do would compare to the pain he would suffer at the hands of someone who had tried to recruit him. They pushed for information, but he committed suicide before they could find anything valuable. Bit off and swallowed his own tongue to suffocate on it."

She reached under her desk with one hand and effortlessly lifted a pile of folders onto the tabletop.

"This is all of the correspondence I had with the informant from Iwagakure. In the beginning, I took it for a scam and ignored the messages. But they kept coming, and eventually he gave me something worth sending a team out for. He suggested, in part, that Iwa was responsible for the fire that sabotaged the medical crops in the north of Fire country. Foolish on my part to believe him, I know; but I needed to be sure I could trust the man before I went and accused the Tsuchikage of anything; and he that he needed to meet in person. Now I feel as though I was herded into place."

"You think the informant wasn't real?"

"The informant mentioned possible chakra contamination of the area to ensure that anything we grew in that area again would be mutated and unsuable, which now I see cornered me into sending both Kakashi and Sakura. I think a conveniently timed attack in a treaty zone would set enough people on edge that they'd be willing to believe anything. Look at the village on the edge of the border; we returned the body of their villager and they wouldn't let Kiba through the gates. We're their line of defense in the event of a war... and they don't trust us. Kiba's mission report said several of the villagers appeared to be making their way towards the border with their belongings."

The list continued, every place Tsunade had set foot in connecting directly to missing shinobi or unresolved suspicious activity. By the time she had finished, Jiraiya had his thumbs pressed to the inner corner of his eyes. A dark look of anger creased across his brow as he levelled her with a stare, his previous lighthearted attempts to cut the tension now dissolved.

"You're being set up."

"Certainly appears so."

Tsunade leaned back in her chair with a heavy sigh. The discovery should have added to her stress, really. But instead she felt something different stirring in her chest, almost bubbling into laughter. Without arousing any of her suspicion, someone had managed to pull enough strings to make her look guilty of attempting to uproot the peace among the shinobi villages. Whoever they were.. they were good.

"The Tsuchikage?" Jiraiya asked, the scroll now gripped in his hands as he looked over it again.

"Unlikely... what would he benefit from overthrowing me as Hokage? He knows the current candidate is Kakashi, and he would be even less amenable to his demands than I am. No, I think he's just another pawn for whoever is behind all this."

"Danzo?"

"I considered it. He was definitely up to something with those sharingan, but now he's dead and someone went to great lengths to make it look like an accident. If he was behind something, he was only a small part of it. I have Shizune doing her best with the body and the sharingan, but that will only take us so far. I'm being targeted, Jiraiya. Right now, I can only trust a handful of the shinobi in this village."

"What do we do?"

Tsunade let the two front legs of her chair slam into the ground, rattling the cabinet beside her.

"We behave like everything is normal. I send shinobi out on missions; I meet with the elders; and we go about our daily business. As far as most people are concerned, the cause of Danzo's death was natural causes. I've convinced the village Elders to keep their noses out of the sharingan business for the time being, which gives us a window of a few days before they start trying to ask more questions. I need you to find me any information you can about what Danzo was doing with ROOT. I know he kept the seals in place but you're a man of loopholes- find me answers. I have Kakashi and Sakura keeping eyes on each other, but I want you to keep up some subtle surveillance. Both of them are involved in this somehow; Naruto too, maybe. I don't see why someone would go to such great lengths to put me in this position if they weren't going to bother making a move on the kyuubi as well. But we keep everything minimal. Nothing too obvious; I don't want to alarm the civilians or spook anyone who might be involved. I've passed the information you gave me about Shisui onto Shizune and she's going to work with it to find out how he might actually have died."

"And what are you going to do?"

Tsunade looked out at the late afternoon sky and rubbed her tired eyes.

"I guess I'm going to interrogate a dead man."

* * *

 **A/N-** **Hey there. It's been a while. If you're not interested in knowing where I went and what happened, thanks for reading and I'll see you next chapter. If you are...**

 **Earlier this year I lost my dad to a very aggressive form of cancer. The wedding I just went to was the first event where he was supposed to be, and wasn't. He was the first person in my life I'd ever lost, and it was obviously super hard. And to deal with my grief, I decided to do the super smart thing and ignore it. I pushed it down and squashed it out and covered it with other things. I threw myself into writing this story; I tried taking up a language. Anything I could do to keep myself from thinking about it. So when I was suddenly at my sister's wedding, and I wasn't able to ignore the fact that my dad was gone, and would never be back- I fell apart. This last month I've just really been spending a lot of time working through my feelings, and a lot of my writing fell flat. I wasn't producing anything I felt proud of, or wanted to publish. But for now I think I'm doing okay, and I'm happy to say I'm back in the swing of things.**

 **As always thanks so much to everyone who reviewed, it really kept me coming back to this story and making it work.**


	20. Chapter 20

Kakashi glared at the two chips of white being held out in front of him, tempted to lift his hitai-ate in case Genma was playing some kind of trick on him. Only somewhat confident, he reached out and jabbed at the one to his right. Genma raised an eyebrow.

"Are you just guessing?"

"They're exactly the same, Genma."

Genma flipped both paint chips around and squinted at them, chewing thoughtfully on his senbon.

"Not according to that woman at the paint supply store. Shizune and I spent an hour in there. I think... she liked this one?"

He flicked 'soft eggshell' towards him, but hesitated. Kakashi blinked.

"Genma..."

"Look, I care about this as much as you do but Shizune and I picked a specific one for the living room and I told her I'd remember and I don't so I need your help here. The woman said one of them will compliment that blue wall Shizune wants- what are you doing?"

Kakashi pried the lid off a random paint can, peering inside to confirm it was indeed white, before he dunked the brush into the goop and began slathering it on the walls. Genma sighed behind him, and Kakashi saw the paint chip samples whizz out the open window.

"I don't even think Shizune cares that much to be honest, but we agreed we'd both move in here officially and she'd sell her apartment so we wanted to do something to make it more ours. And Shizune's always said she wants to spruce it up a bit in here, not that I see anything wrong with it."

Kakashi snorted, taking in the multitude of kunai grooves and scuff marks on the drab beige walls and said nothing. He'd gotten to the apartment block in time to avoid helping Genma resurface the wooden countertops; install new cabinets; and fix the suspicious gurgle in the kitchen sink pipes. Had he known he was going to be strong armed into repainting, he might have actually showed up on time. They painted in silence, broken only by Kakashi correcting Genma on his exuberant technique. He'd painted enough damn fences with Team 7 that he was practically a professional at this point.

"So. I kind of thought being on the Hokage's Guard Platoon would mean I got to be up to date on most of the stuff going down in Konoha, but I'm pretty sure there's something going on that you and Shizune already know about. Do I get a heads up?"

Kakashi smoothed the brush along the baseboard, careful not to transfer any of the paint. He kept his attention focused to the floor, not answering for a long time, before Genma's senbon wedged itself in the floor beside his nose.

"I'm not asking you to uncover all the seedy underbelly of Konoha or anything, but Shizune's been working herself sick these last few weeks and I'd have better luck getting information out of Ibiki than I would from her. So I'm asking you, shinobi to shinobi.. should I be in here giving a crap about which shade of white supposed to paint these walls or should I be out in the training grounds?"

Kakashi rested the brush on the top of the can and rose from his crouch, keeping his eye on Genma. They were friends, there was no doubt about it. Genma had pulled his ass out of more than one bad situation; and Kakashi had done the same for him. Genma also, like many shinobi who flashed sly grins and cheeky commentary, was keen eyed and knew when something was brewing behind his friends outward veneer.

"I think once everything is finished... you'll enjoy coming back to your newly painted house with your partner."

It was enough for Genma, at least for now. The first coat of paint was drying on the wall the next time they spoke, as Genma held out a frosted glass of water towards him while they sat atop the kitchen island. Genma pulled the senbon from his mouth and twirled it between his fingers.

"I'm going to ask Shizune to marry me. Sometime after all this stuff with the village is done. I told Tsunade-sama I was going to do it, just seemed polite. I thought she might kick my ass across the village but she said Dan would have liked me and that's high praise. Then all this crap started happening, so I guess I'll be waiting. Kind of good though, I've got no idea how to do it."

Kakashi scratched the back of his head and coughed, "I'm not the village leader on romance, so don't look at me. Check with Yamato. Or Gai." he added after a moment of thought.

Genma grimaced, "Gai would have me hang a banner off the Sandaime's forehead. You shouldn't sell yourself short in the romance department though, I've gotten Shizune some nice stuff, but even I don't have pull with the Inuzuka clan."

Kakashi sipped from his glass, "I'm going to ask her to dinner."

Genma's hand clapped down on his shoulder, the other tilting his glass towards Kakashi's, "To our romantic lives, then. Hopefully neither of us end up with a boot in our ass."

Kakashi clinked his glass, the slightest hint of a smile tickling at the corner of his mouth. They sat quietly for a few long moments, both of them staring critically at the freshly painted wall.

"...it doesn't match the new counter tops, does it?" Genma asked, notes of defeat in his tone. Kakashi shook his head, already rummaging around for another can of paint.

"Nope. Not even slightly."

* * *

Most of the Fire Border Patrol shinobi rotated in and out every six months, except those who had the misfortune of pissing off Tsunade enough that she felt the need to leave them there any longer. Considering they weren't deep in the throes of war, the position currently consisted of newly minted chunin checking non Fire shinobi entrance approvals and stopping kids from messing around and getting hurt. That somehow didn't manage to stop the shinobi on duty from getting themselves injured and not taking the appropriate measures to fix it. Sakura stared long and hard at the x-ray in front of her, the corner of her eye twitching.

"So... you didn't bring this to the assigned medic when it happened?"

"I reset the bone," the chunin said with a shrug, "Didn't seem like an issue. Besides, our rotation only had a field medic- they don't do anything I cant do myself."

Sakura pursed her lips and gently flicked her finger against the chunin's arm, hearing him suck in a hiss of air.

"The field medic might not be quite as well trained as the medics here in the village, but they at least know how to set a bone properly. I'm going to have to fix this before it gets any worse and I need to put you on medical leave."

"How?"

Sakura smiled as she slipped her hand around the man's arm, stroking her thumb along the skin. He couldn't be any older than seventeen, maybe eighteen with the thick growth of facial hair that curved up his jawline. She felt some of the tension in his arm bleed away at her touch, and she leaned in a fraction closer to him.

"I'm going to break your arm, okay?"

"What- FUCK!"

The sickening snap of bone was swallowed by the cry, and Sakura wondered idly if he'd realized she'd given him a small chakra sedative and he wasn't feeling anything. Then again, watching your bone snap in front of your eyes was cause for alarm, regardless of whether or not you were able to feel it. She pressed her fingers down, finding where the bone should have been set before she manoeuvring it into place. This was the third bone break she had had to snap and reset today; four shinobi had shown signs of infection in improperly treated wounds; and the medic had only offered her a haggard sigh and a 'what do you want from me' hand wave when she had asked why they weren't coming for treatment.

"I've immobilized your arm to keep the bone in place; one of the nurses will be in to finish the healing. Since we've had to re-break the injury, you'll likely experience some discomfort. Itching, tingling, minor and temporary loss of sensation is all normal. If you notice any unusual pain, report to the hospital. _Immediately._ "

She held her unimpressed stare on him until he looked properly chastised before she left, pressing the folder into the hands of the waiting nurse.

"Self administered bone reset during rotation. Heal him up and send him home; prescribe something mild for the pain."

 _Count your blessings, Sakura,_ she reminded herself as she dragged herself to the nurse's station for her next patient, _you could be in the genin ward._

When she had taken in her previous patient there had been at least half a dozen chunin still waiting to be seen from the border patrol; another three jounin fresh off a mission waiting for their medical clearance papers to be signed. The waiting room, however, was now at a quiet standstill.

"Eh? Shoji-san, where did everyone go?"

A gentle tap on her shoulder brought her attention around, her eyes meeting with Tsunade's before a roll of paper was pushed into her hand.

"I had Himari take over the post mission check ups and helped Shizune with the border stragglers. I needed to clear your schedule so I could give you this."

"A mission, shishou?"

Sakura looked down at the mission scroll Tsunade had handed her, tied with a thick blue ribbon and sealed with the mark of Konoha. A mission was certainly the last thing she had expected with the current goings on, and this was a solo mission no less. Tsunade flicked her eyes pointedly to Shoji; who had his head ducked down behind another mountain of charts, schedules and patient files; before she made for the door. The mid afternoon sky was a heat drenched blue, the tickle of spring wind darting between the buildings to rustle curtains and swish the hems of skirts. The warmth of the sun kissed at Sakura's skin and the villagers bustled around in packs, all seemingly lost in their own worlds and lives. Sakura followed her mentor, ducking past various stores and greeting the villagers who passed them by. Tsunade stopped by a tea stand, passing over a handful of ryo before handing Sakura a tall, frosted glass of ice tea and something dark and sweet smelling for herself. Tsunade relaxed into a wicker chair tucked close to the stand, gesturing for Sakura to join her.

"I apologize for the lack of warning, but the need for the mission came quite suddenly and I'd prefer if it was kept quiet overall, given the circumstances."

Sakura didn't need to ask what 'the circumstances' were, though she was sure there was more Tsunade was keeping back. The last time Tsunade had treated her to something when handing her a mission scroll she had been sent to assassinate someone.

"Its not what I want right now, trust me. But I need certain items from the north and I can't risk having them misidentified. Yamanaka isn't fit for duty; Hyuuga is still on her clan leave; and I have Shizune doing other things. Its a simple mission; shouldn't take more than four days to complete. You'll be heading to the evergreen forest along the border, the rest of the information is in the scroll. The items I require are time sensitive, so you'll need to mobilize before end of day."

Sakura blinked. "Wait, _today?_ Am I not able to leave tomorrow morning?"

"Is there a problem? If you're concerned about the remainder of the border rotation, I brought in medics from the north district, they will be supplementing the hospital staff while you're away. Shizune and I will also be here for extended hours until you return."

"Oh no, shishou. I was just... wondering if I would get a chance to say goodbye to- people. So they don't worry. And my plants... I'll need someone to water them."

The corner of Tsunade's lips quirked and Sakura felt ready to die on the spot. She had hoped since Naruto and Ino were back in the village that she could pass of 'people' as her friends, but it seemed she wasn't going to have as much luck. Kakashi might not have been the _only_ reason she was shocked by the decision to begin the mission so soon, but he had definitely crossed her mind ahead of planning and packing time and general mission preparedness she preferred. Tsunade smiled.

"I'll be sure to let _people_ know where you've gone, and when I expect you to return. And if you're so concerned about your plants, I'll stop by after my meetings and water them. I've heard Ino never did pick up her father's talent for cultivating flora."

Tsunade's hand came down firmly on Sakura's, squeezing desperately tight, the corners of her eyes creased with worry as the playful smile slipped from her face.

"Sakura... sending you on this mission is against my better judgment but I need this done by someone I trust wholeheartedly. I know on paper this missions seems simple, but I need to make myself clear. Unless there is an immediate threat to your life or the safety of Konoha, you are not to engage in physical combat with anyone you find. If you make any stops during the journey, do so only at villages and do not identify yourself as a shinobi. If at any point you believe the mission will take longer than the expected four days, send Katsuyu to me as soon as possible. There are people out there who would be willing to do anything to get a hold of you. Be _safe_ , Sakura."

Sakura slid her free hand over the top of Tsunade, squeezing back with reassuring strength.

"I learned from the best, shishou. I promise, I'll make no unnecessary decisions that could find me in harms way. I'll pack now and head out within the hour."

She rose from the chair, watching as Tsunade disappeared into the busy afternoon.

Her fingers itched to pick the wax seal from the scroll, but it would have to wait until she was alone. The evergreen forest in the north of Fire country was a designated zone of medical supplies, no one without permission from the daimyo or Hokage was to enter. It was, therefore, often the target of bandits and missing nin. Since the arson attack on the medical crop a day's journey from the forest; the shinobi guard had been doubled along the perimeter, but that hadn't stopped people from trying to get through.

She had a small emergency bag for situations like this tucked under her bed; basic supplies and weapons packed tight into a brown backpack she could reach for at a moments notice. She scratched Mr. Wiggles behind the ear as she stripped off her medic clothes and reached for something more appropriate. Given that she had been specifically instructed not to engage with anyone if she could help it, her usual attire wouldn't make the cut. Instead, she tucked her hair under a dark green cloth, fashioning it into a knot at the back to secure it in place. Her clothing choice would bled in against the trees; dark brown and moss green drawing less attention to herself.

"Ino will feed you while I'm gone. _Don't_ beg for human food, you're on the road to becoming a happy house cat," she said to Mr. Wiggles, who yawned in her face and sprawled on her pillow cases, shedding cream and orange hairs all over her comforter. Sakura peeled open the scroll and scanned the contents, her brows knitting into a frown. The plants Tsunade had requested were uncommon, certainly not used for day to day hospital work; and not likely even in the Poisons and Antidotes department unless there was something they were trying to identify.

"What the hell, shishou?" she muttered to herself before wedging the scroll into her backpack. She would ask when she returned, though she wasn't sure she would get an answer. As she made her way down the pebbled path, she paused, catching sight of the blossoming gladiolus in the sun. The low tug in her gut at the thought of leaving the village, leaving _Kakashi_ even for a few days made her sigh heavily. She was in deep over her head with this.

Except, she thought later, as she was leaping from branch to branch on the other side of the Konoha village gates...

This time something about it felt different. This time, it felt like maybe she wasn't the only one feeling the way she did. Maybe when she got back from this mission...

Maybe she could ask Kakashi to dinner.

She pushed off the next branch with more force, propelling herself further into the forest. The sooner she arrived, the sooner she could get back. The thought made her smile.

* * *

The light was on in Sakura's kitchen, radiating a warm glow through the windows that begged Kakashi to knock on the door. He had passed Ino and Shikamaru sharing a bowl of noodles in the main street on his way over here, so he knew he wouldn't be faced with a barrage of questions from the excitable blonde roommate if he stopped by. His discussion with Genma niggled at the back of his mind as he paused outside the gate to Sakura's home, hands stuffed deep into his pockets. He knew Sakura had matured significantly from her genin days; even if she did reject his offer, she would respect him if he asked her not to repeat it to anyone. He also knew her friendship with Neji had remained almost unaffected by their breakup; and the budding friendship between them likely wouldn't suffer.

The back door opened, spilling the light out onto the pebbled pathway.

"She isn't here. Help me with this, would you?"

Tsunade gestured a watering can into the air in his general direction before turning to a cluster of potted plants, sloshing water over them with no finesse. Kakashi remained frozen outside the gate until Tsunade sighed and looked over her shoulder, spraying water over a clump of weeds that had cropped up in the dirt without being caught.

"I had to send her on a mission; she'll be back within the week. She asked me to water her garden, apparently Ino can't be trusted with the upkeep. I really should have just paid a genin team to do it, she's expanded since the last time I was here."

The gate creaked under his hand and he made a mental note to oil it for Sakura. He pushed Tsunade's wrist slightly to left to keep her from drowning the azaleas before he lifted the hose Sakura had washed him down with.

"A mission? It must be important if you're willing to send her out of the village."

 _Keep it casual_ , he reminded himself as he began to divide and conquer the garden. Tsunade raised an eyebrow.

"It is."

Tsunade, evidently, wasn't going to fall for his charm, but it had been worth a shot. The stress was obvious on her face in the crows feet and dark circles that even her youthful jutsu couldn't manage to erase. Her gaze, however, was still sharp as she watched him move about the garden, silently calculating her next words.

"Any leads on who might have killed Danzo?"

Tsunade let out an undignified snort, "The man had a list of enemies longer than my list of debts; there are over a dozen shinobi in this village who would have the motive _and_ means. Narrowing them down to lightning users thins the herd, but even someone with decent chakra control and no natural lightning affinity could have managed it. We know the village has at least one spy, though where there's one rat there is almost always another. But given there were no signs of a struggle in his home, Shizune and I both agree that it was more likely than not someone he trusted, or recognized at the very least. You'll also be happy to know that I've tasked Shizune with extracting information from the sharingan we have; she'll begin when Sakura returns."

"Ah... thank you."

Remembering that what was left of the Uchiha clan technically belonged to him now made him sick to his stomach; but Sakura's reassuring words echoed in his head. Maybe the kekkei genkai could provide the village with something; maybe Sasuke could repay him after all.

"I heard Naruto returned from the Kage Summit in one piece."

Tsunade's deadpan stare turned on him and he scratched behind his ear, "That bad, huh?"

"I'm being set up to look like a war mongering tyrant; Konoha's only allies at this moment are Suna and Kiri; and the Tsuchikage insinuated to Naruto that I'm keeping something from him, practically dangling the truth about the night the kyuubi attacked in his face."

"...ah."

He wasn't going to touch any of that with a ten foot pole right now. Not until the Hokage had a cup of sake in her hand.

* * *

"Do you think Shisui Uchiha killed himself?"

She'd turned her back for a moment and Kakashi already had his book open in front of him, hose dangling limply in his hand as he let the water spray arc over the dark tangle of plants. He didn't even spare her a glance as he replied. His tone the usual monotone drawl she had come to know so well.

"I didn't know him particularly well, Tsunade. He was young, smart...incredibly talented. Not destined to be shackled to the Uchiha path of marriage and children quite to the same level as Itachi would have been. Had he not died when he did, I'm confident he would have surpassed most of the clan and likely many of the jounin in the village. I was surprised when I heard the announcement, absolutely. But you never can tell what's going on in the mind of someone who does such a thing."

He flicked a page in his book and Tsunade almost felt bad for asking. She turned the spray of water to the base of another cluster of flowers, breathing in deep to savour the calming scent of damp earth and bark.

"You remember, I'm sure; but according to Sasuke, Itachi claimed he murdered him and faked the suicide. He wanted the Mangekyo, supposedly. Do you believe that to be a more believable scenario than the suspected suicide?"

"I think anyone who had to clean up after the massacre would believe it if they didn't know any better. If Itachi really did kill him, why bother faking the suicide note if his intentions were to commit mass genocide not long after? I personally think Itachi was just rubbing salt into the wound for Sasuke. If I remember correctly, Sasuke and Shisui were just as close as brothers. His suicide would have been painful enough to cope with, I can't imagine how he must have reacted to hearing his brother murdered him as well. There are other ways to get the Mangekyo, and Itachi was smart enough to know that. I assume, based on the sudden interest, that Shizune managed to identify the sharingan?"

Tsunade relayed the information Shizune had collected, not holding anything back. She had known Kakashi for longer than he could probably remember, and Minato had died with nothing but pride for his student. She trusted him beyond a shadow of a doubt.

"To be perfectly frank, I have minimal concern about the other sharingan that don't belong to Shisui; it would have been easy for Orochimaru to capture the Uchiha shinobi during missions and remove the organs. We know the first to be harvested was Momo's; shortly after her death. If the body is kept in good enough condition and the eyes are still fully in tact, it could be possible to reanimate the kekkei genkai with residual chakra. The arm is still unaccounted for, but I spent time analyzing what I could of it today and based on bone degeneration and common markers, it definitely belonged to one of Orochimaru's test subjects. I noticed something when I removed Shisui's eye from Danzo today."

"Something that bothers you?"

Tsunade pursed her lips and set the empty water can on the ground, perching on the bricked garden wall and resting back on her arms.

"The other sharingan that were removed show trauma to the chakra channels, but not to the surrounding tissue or blood vessels, as would be expected if it was removed after the death of the host. Shisui's transplanted eye showed distinct trauma markers to the eye itself, which I've personally only ever seen in one other scenario."

Kakashi hand twitched towards his hitai-ate, and she knew he would be able to piece the rest together.

"Shisui was alive when the sharingan was removed... like Obito when he gave me his."

"It certainly seems so. That in and of itself will be enough evidence for me to have him stripped of his titles and buried outside the gates as a traitor to the village; but it doesn't answer anywhere near all of the questions I have. I have Jiraiya trying to squeeze information out of ROOT, not that I expect him to get much. Danzo wasn't known for being a team player, but I have my doubts that he did this alone. What I do know is that someone killed him, but they didn't bother to try and remove any of the sharingan from his body. I also know he was far too interested in Sakura for my liking."

She fished in the pocket of her haori and pulled out a hair tie she was sure he would recognize immediately. Tsunade handed it to him as she bent to twist closed the water tap, the screech of rusting metal breaking the quiet evening.

"I found this among Danzo's personal items. I think he was following Sakura, keeping eyes on her movements. Even though the eyes implanted in his arm possess the sharingan, we have no way of knowing to what extent they worked when placed in his body; or what physical effect they had on him if they were activated. I can't help but wonder if perhaps he was planning to capture Sakura and force her to find a way to heal him. He always did have creepy little habits. Any other reason why he would have one of her hair ties in his home?"

Kakashi picked it up between two fingers, gently plucking the long strand of hair wrapped right around the band. He pulled it free and held it up to the light, the thin black strand catching in the glow of the moon hanging in the sky, full and bright above them.

"This wasn't hers. Not anymore. She gave this to Sasuke at some point. He was wearing it the day I... the day he died," Kakashi amended, gently scraping his thumb along the inside of the blossoms, watching as a line of dried blood flaked away from the petal, "There is no way for Danzo to have this, Tsunade-sama."

"Maybe she didn't wear it after she collected Sasuke's effects. She's a sentimental girl, there's no shame in it. I think Danzo was following her, or having someone from ROOT do it. I don't know what his creepy reasoning was for keeping trinkets of her-"

"Tsunade." Kakashi interrupted, his voice curt and rough, "You don't understand."

"...This band was buried with Sasuke."

* * *

 **KONOHAGAKURE- THE DAY SASUKE DIED**

* * *

"How are you going to do it?"

Kakashi clenched his jaw under his mask, not making eye contact with the man sitting across from him. Outside, grey clouds loomed on the horizon, a fitting symbolism for the outcome of the day. He had put it off as long as Sasuke would allow, hoping that someone at the hospital would have a miraculous breakthrough in treatment; or Sasuke's condition would show even the slightest inclination towards improvement. Instead, he had continued to degrade, like rocks against the barrage of a tide, slowly but surely. His energy was perked only by blood transfusions, and his medications to keep pain at bay now covered the entirety of his kitchen counter.

"I've gotten permission from Tsunade to take you out of the Konoha border, just a few miles. I told her you wanted to see the camphor tree. I remember your mother used to take you and your brother there."

Sasuke smiled, his eyes gazing somewhere far out into the distance, "Mmm, she used to tell us it was where the forest spirit lived. I'm not sure now that Itachi ever believed her, but I did. I haven't been in a long time."

Tsunade had seemed skeptical at the request, but Kakashi had smoothed it over with the usual commentary made regarding Sasuke's odd behaviour in these last few weeks. He was dying. Who were they to deny the wishes of a dying man. Sasuke sighed quietly, the rattling wheeze of his lungs making Kakashi twitch.

"And then?"

"I have several options, if you would prefer to choose one..."

He had agonized over how he would do this, spent countless nights sitting up in his bed. As a shinobi, he had no shortage of choices; but it seemed wrong to not give Sasuke a choice in the matter. When Sasuke didn't offer a response, Kakashi cleared his throat.

"I assumed you would prefer it as quick and painless as possible, so I decided against using poisons. I could...suffocate you. There's a spring by the camphor, if you would prefer-" he paused, rubbing his forehead, "-prefer to be drowned. Or-"

"Would you fight me?" Sasuke interrupted. Kakashi hesitated, taking in the haggard and fragile figure of his former student.

"...it wouldn't be much of a fight."

Sasuke's sudden burst of laughter lasted only a second before it dissolved into a fit of harsh coughs that wracked his body like a leaf in the wind. Sasuke wiped his mouth when he had finally recovered, clearing away the barest speckles of dark blood that had clustered on his bottom lip.

"You're right. I'm not sure I have the energy to manage a chidori."

Visions of Rin skewered on his own hand flashed before his eyes and Kakashi reached out to grab Sasue's wrist, feeling the sharp jut of bone on the flesh of his palm.

"No. I will do _anything..._ but not that _."_

Sasuke's sharingan had activated at the touch of Kakashi's hand; one of the only things Sasuke could continue to cling to of his life before the illness had taken hold.

"Of course, my apologies. I know the pain of a kunai; I would know what to expect. If you could.."

He _could_ , there was no doubt about it. He looked down at his hand, imagining it literally stained with the blood of yet another one of his teammates. The desire to argue bubbled up inside him, though he knew it would fall on deaf ears. But he couldn't help but give it one last try.

"Tsunade has her best people looking for a way to cure you, Sasuke. Are you sure-"

"You and I both know there's no way for them to cure this anymore, Kakashi. At best, even if she replaced all of my organs today, it would only be a temporary solution. If you can't do this for me, I understand."

The ' _but I'll find someone who will'_ was unsaid and screamed at the same time; and it marked the end of their conversation. Sasuke needed help rising from his chair, resting all of his weight on Kakashi's arm and barely making a dent in his clothing. Kakashi felt him pause as they reached the door and he held his breath, hoping maybe he was about to change his mind. Instead, he saw Sasuke's line of sight lingering on the framed photo of Team 7 that Naruto had brought and placed on the windowsill.

"What you're doing for me is incredibly kind, Kakashi. I'm sorry I won't have the opportunity to do anything for you in return."

Kakashi bit the inside of his cheek as he pulled the door open, feeling the chill of rain hanging heavy in the air; and he swallowed his desire to beg Sasuke to change his mind.

* * *

 **A/N-** **I really can't explain how grateful I am for the huge out pour of support you guys gave me after the last chapter. It's been hard, and with the holidays coming up, I know it's going to be harder, but your comments really helped.**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I'm obviously taking a lot of artistic liberty with the way the Sharingan works but tbh I feel like canon never explored it well enough, considering how deeply it was tied to emotions I think that creates such an interesting dynamic for the kekkei genkai.**

 **Also the painting scene between Kakashi and Genma is 100% taken from real life with my partner. Different shades of white matter. Do not be fooled into believing they don't and make the mistake we did.**


	21. Chapter 21

The dirt above Sasuke's grave was still lightly dampened from the rain, and cold to the touch in the night air. Kakashi clawed his fingers into it, feeling it crumble and break away under the assault as he drew dirt away from the rock. Pakkun and Bull had their heads down, digging as hard as they could. Owls and other night birds called in the distance, disturbed from their peace by Tsunade's bright light and Kakashi's lack of stealth. Tsunade's fist had cracked the ground open, neither of them having thought to bring a shovel in their haste, and Kakashi had thrown himself into the hole to remove the inches of dirt before she had a chance to stop him.

"Kakashi, are you _sure_ this was the one Sakura left with Sasuke? She has so many of them."

Kakashi had answered that question too many times already. Had the dried blood not been enough, the memory of watching from afar as Sakura slipped the hair tie onto Sasuke's wrist, facing the sakura blossom to the sky before she pressed a kiss to his forehead was burned into the back of his mind. She hadn't cried that day, not a single tear. She had been stone faced and square shouldered; speaking only briefly when asked by her mentor if she had any words before the coffin was closed. He had seen it later, when everyone but Tsunade had left and he finally made his way to the grave side to say his goodbyes. The hair tie had been mostly hidden by the sleeve of the navy yukata he was buried in, only the barest sliver of pink visible. He knew it had been there. He was sure of it.

His hands went back into the dirt, but this time instead of feeling only crumbling earth, his knuckles scraped against something hard; the dull thud music to his ears. Tsunade leapt into the pit, shoving him back with a warning hand.

"I'll do it, Kakashi."

The implication that Danzo had exhumed Sasuke's body not only without permission, but without anyone's knowledge, wasn't something Kakashi wanted to consider. There was always a chance, however slim, that he had only taken the tie; some kind of strange trophy of the last Uchiha. It had been part of the reason Sasuke's burial was shrouded in secrecy- the chance that someone would want a piece of him even in death being too great.

Tsunade curled her fingers around the lid, the crack of splintering wood sending birds soaring into the night sky. Kakashi heard her sharp intake of breath and he knew, without even seeing. So many things should have been his first concern; a security breach; Sasuke's grave being robbed; the possibility of someone, somewhere having Sasuke's sharingan. But instead, only one thought burned through his brain and settled as a sickening clench in his gut.

How was he going to tell Sakura?

* * *

 **KONOHAGAKURE- LAST YEAR- THE DAY SASUKE DIED**

* * *

Tsunade was telling Naruto; she had insisted it was her job as Hokage to inform the next of kin, of which Sasuke had only officially chosen one of them. That was how he found himself standing outside Sakura's apartment, scratching at the hands that had only hours ago been stained with Sasuke's blood. The looming rain from earlier in the day was now beginning to fall in gentle sheets, bouncing off the pavement and catching in the curls of leaves. He wondered if Tsunade had cleared the blood from the grass beneath the camphor, or if the rain would do it for her.

"I'm coming!"

How long had it been since he had knocked? It felt like such a long time. But Sakura hated to leave people waiting outside.

"Kakashi-sensei! Come inside, I was just getting ready. Do we have a mission?"

Her hair was damp and thrown into a messy knot at the top of her head, stray water droplets spilling down her neck and seeping into the neck of her grey cotton shirt. She looked relaxed. Bright. Full of energy and life and hope. She was looking at him strangely. Had she spoken to him? He couldn't remember.

"Mmm?"

"I asked if I could get you any tea," she said, stepping towards him with a frown creasing between her brows, "Are you alright? You don't look well."

She pushed him down into one of the chairs at her kitchen table, which was cluttered with medical texts and scrolls; a handful of hair ties; a blunted kunai; and a small potted plant still in its black plastic seedling case. Her hands were cold, he noted as he felt them press to his forehead.

"Kakashi-sensei?"

"Mmm?"

She pushed a mug of tea towards him, steaming hot and a pale green color, "Is everything alright? Did Tsunade-sama send you here?"

"Ah... yes."

She clicked her tongue and shifted towards him, "Did you catch the cold going around that the jounin squad brought back from Kiri? Honestly, I _told_ you, Sai and Naruto to go by the hospital and get the vaccination, but only Naruto seemed to have listened. Half the shinobi in the village are sniffling and it's even worked it's way into the civilian district. Though I think Naruto only did it because I told him he would be allowed to see Sasuke if he got sick, his immune system is too weak to handle anything. He had that delivered to me today, you know."

She pointed at the tiny green plant as her hand glowed across his face, "It's a tomato plant, Inoichi-san says. I've never grown fruits and vegetables before, hopefully I can keep it alive. Maybe I'll try and grow some eggplants while I'm at it, then we could have it fresh in the spring. Or fall? I'm not sure what the season is for eggplants, but I'm sure I can find out. Did you know eggplants and tomatoes are related, how strange is that?"

She must not have seen many people today. She was rambling. His hands were itching. The tea tasted like nothing on his tongue. When had the rain gotten so loud?

"Kakashi-sensei?"

He looked up into her concerned green eyes and reached for her hand, guiding her down into the chair beside him. He had done this so many times before, and yet this felt like the first time he had pulled the words from his chest. Sakura worked in the hospital, he knew she was no stranger to death. But this... this was different.

"Sakura... we need to talk. About Sasuke."

* * *

 **KONOHAGAKURE- PRESENT DAY- THE UCHIHA COMPOUND**

* * *

Kakashi and Tsunade were huddled together on the rotting wooden floors of Sasuke's childhood home- or at least what was left of it. Weeds and vines had overtaken the skeletal remains of the structure, drawing them down into the dirt with their sheer weight; wrapping tight around the eaves to suffocate the last remains of the clan who had once thrived there. Tsunade's lantern threw mangled shadows against the ground and up into the trees, adding an another level of eeriness to the compound. Tsunade ran her fingers through her hair.

"We have no way of knowing when Danzo could have removed the body; it may have been as recently as days before he died."

"But he took it," Kakashi said quietly, steepling his fingers before pushing them deep into the corners of his eyes, trying to ward away the shadows of pain lurking behind them, "Are you sure none of the Sharingan belonged to Sasuke? Not even one of them?"

Kakashi wasn't a medic nin, but even he knew that Sasuke being able to activate his sharingan until the day he died baffled even Tsunade. His body had been fraught with disease, his chakra channels narrowed and collapsing in on themselves, his own heart and lungs failing him- and yet something had kept his sharingan working against all odds. Danzo had to have been desperate to get his hands on them.

"Shizune's genetic testing is almost entirely accurate, and Sasuke was the first sample we tested against. For the sharingan to have even been viable, Danzo would have had to have the body within days of his burial. If it was something else he was after; Uchiha DNA, maybe..."

"Orochimaru is dead, what use would Uchiha DNA be to Danzo? I know there are other shinobi out there who dabble in that sort of thing, but even you have to admit that nobody was ever as successful as Orochimaru."

"Dammit, Kakashi, _I don't know!"_

Tsunade slammed her palm down on the floor, which moaned ominously before part of the structure crippled and collapsed, showering wood dust and plant life down onto their heads. Tsunade sighed and bent forward, elbows on her crossed legs and her head in her hands, ignoring the slivers of wood entangled in her hair.

"I don't _know_ ," she repeated quietly, the anger and usual spark of determination gone from her voice, "There's so much happening, so many things that don't make sense. Why not just attack the village; why try and make me seem like an unfit leader? What did Danzo want with Sasuke's remains- who the hell killed Danzo? This isn't some run of the mill missing nin, Kakashi. This is someone with a plan and they're dozens of steps ahead of us."

Kakashi ruffled his hair and looked out into the darkness of the rest of the compound, Tsunade's words fading into the distance. Even in death; it seemed Sasuke wouldn't be allowed to have peace.

"Hatake- are you even listening to me?"

"No."

Tsunade was by the door frame, lantern in hand to ensure she didn't lay her weight anywhere that wouldn't be able to support it. Her hands were filthy with grave dirt and moss stains, sweat and dust mingled on the slope of her forehead.

"I told you to go home. Have a bottle of sake; read that drivel Jiraiya churns out. If I think of anything you can do, I'll send for you. Until then, I don't suppose I have to explain to you how important it is that what happened here tonight stays between us."

She wanted him to go home as though nothing had happened. As though he wouldn't lay awake tonight wondering how long he had been talking to an empty coffin; spending hours sitting atop a robbed grave. Sasuke was dead and somehow he'd still found a way to let him down, not even noticing something was amiss. He had sent the dogs away as soon as he had finally glanced down inside the coffin, seeing nothing but the dark wood staring back up at him; Pakkun had protested- Kakashi had yelled. They would want to talk about it, and he knew he didn't have the energy. He wanted quiet comfort; warmth and stability.

He wanted Sakura.

The thought almost terrified him.

"I'll stay here." he finally decided, "I'll scout the area for clues; anything that might gives us an idea of who was here."

"Kakashi..."

Tsunade was crouched beside him, her mouth set in a firm line.

"...I'm sorry I have to do this. But I think it's for the best."

Her hand darted forward before he had a chance to ask what she meant. And then he felt nothing.

* * *

Heading north beyond the outskirts of Konoha, the trees began to thicken in both size and number, forcing Sakura to the ground when the branches disappeared beneath lush, dark leaves. Night would be all the cover she needed, and by dawn she would retreat back to the trees; it would likely slow her journey, but she wouldn't risk being seen by anyone who could question her. She had been awake since before dawn today, Naruto's arrival and concern about the Tsuchikage having hindered her ability to sleep. Now, however, the slight itch of tiredness was creeping at the corner of her eyes, and the temptation to rest was hard to resist. Had she not promised Tsunade she wouldn't stop until she reached a village she would have stopped right here. Instead she pushed forward, contemplating a solider pill or a hit of the coffee she had tucked into a small thermos. The closest village was at least five hours from her; four if she pushed herself hard.

The current problem, however, was that she couldn't shake the feeling she was being watched. It had started not long after she left Konoha, which had been easy to chalk up to an overhanging paranoia brought on by Tsunade's warning and the latest events. But as she moved further from the gates and deeper into Fire country, the prickle at the back of her neck and the raised hairs on her arm had her wondering if her mentor had been correct in her concerns. She leapt over a fallen tree branch, her feet almost slipping out from under her when she heard an unmistakable rustle from a tree not far away.

 _Don't get paranoid. Animals live in trees, Sakura. Remember that time you almost killed a squirrel._

Not her proudest moment. At least the team had let her bury it to ease her guilt.

Knowing she would never make it to the village without her paranoia getting the better of her, Sakura tugged at the base of her gloves and sighed. Sure to keep moving at her usual pace, she let one hand come down to give her hip pouch a sharp but barely noticeable yank. As predicted, it slipped away as she continued on, giving her the opportunity to stop and reach down. To the outside observer, if there happened to be one, she was merely gathering her spilled belongings so she could move on. Pouch refastened, she took off again, dodging between the trees with her shoulders tensed.

Waiting.

The echoing bang of an explosive tag rippled the trees around her and her heart leapt into her throat. Forcing the tag into the ground under the pretense of collecting her things was a trick she had used many times; the people following often didn't notice, and would walk directly into the trap. The explosion was proof that someone _was_ following her, and now they knew she knew it. She clenched her fists, ready to turn and confront them before she paused, remembering Tsunade's warning. The smoke from the tag was clearing, but no shadowed figure emerged.

"Fight or flight, fight or flight, fight or flight," Sakura whispered, heart hammering so hard in her chest she could see her shirt jump to the beat. There was no immediate threat; and the tag had likely thrown them for a loop. If she ran, she would likely get away. The shinobi in her wanted to fight; eliminate the danger and you don't need to wait for it to creep up on you again. She had chosen the tag specifically to injure and not kill; to offer the person a warning that she knew she was being followed.

A twig cracked in half, somewhere off to her left but still far too close for comfort.

Sakura ran.

* * *

The sweet chirping of cricket song had filled the night air as she made her way back to the Hokage Tower, Kakashi having been placed gingerly on his bed under the disapproving gaze of his ninken. He would be angry with her in the morning, but that was a problem for her future self. She had seen Kakashi go through many hardships in his life, all of them scarring him in a way that nothing seemed to fully heal. Sasuke's death was still a fresh wound to him, she could see it every time he thought nobody was looking and his guard dropped for the barest moment. To know that what should have been Sasuke's final chance at peace had been disturbed, for reasons they didn't want to fathom, she knew if he was left to his own devices his thoughts would get the better of him.

The chunin guarding the entrance to the Tower bowed low as she approached, "Hokage-sama. I-"

He paused, back stiffening as she came into the light, no doubt looking a wreck between the grass stains and the caked mud on her knees and face. She waved a casual, dismissive hand in his direction when he snapped to attention, "Don't worry yourself, even the Hokage needs to let off some steam at the training grounds every now and then. You're dismissed for the night, I'll be returning home once I've gathered a few things I left behind."

He relaxed, giving her a tight smile and clearing his throat, "Ah, Jiraiya-sama arrived several minutes ago, I told him you had left earlier this evening but he insisted he come inside."

Of course he had.

Tsunade waited until the chunin was out of sight, long disappeared around the corner before she let herself into the building, relishing in the quiet that had settled into it. She could see Jiraiya's large silhouette in one of the chairs, paper and pen in hand.

"Getting in late, aren't we- what the hell, Tsunade?"

She really must look terrible, she mused with a half smile, watching as he looked her up and down in quiet horror. She gestured to the staircase, but didn't wait for him to follow.

"Any luck?"

"Maa, good news and bad news. Good news is that it looks like as soon as Danzo died, all of the curse seals on the ROOT members were lifted. Bad news, Danzo must have had at least some idea that it would happen- none of them had any idea about the sharingan-"

Tsunade grabbed Jiraiya's arm, ignoring his muffled wheeze of pain.

"You _told_ them about it?"

Jiraiya rubbed his arm and sighed, "Do I look like an idiot to you? They won't remember in the morning, I had one of my toads get me something to make sure of it. It was hard enough rounding half of them up, they're still under the impression they're some secret society running in the darkness."

Tsunade sucked her teeth. Apparently more people in the village took her for an idiot than she had previously thought. The Third might have been naive enough to believe ROOT disbanded when it was supposed to, but she certainly wasn't. People like that, their personalities ripped away from them and squashed into the ground, they had few places to go but back into the underground.

"You wanted answers, I got you answers. They'll wake up with a headache, nothing worse than a hangover," he fell into step beside her still worrying his sore arm, "The better news, since you didn't ask, is that all of them seemed to be singing the same tune about Danzo. He had them running all kinds of operations underground; no scroll missions, black operations in other countries- he even had some of them bringing him medical supplies off the grid, probably so you or anyone at the hospital wouldn't need to examine him if he got sick. To be honest, none of them seemed too concerned he was dead even though they all supposedly so loyal."

Tsunade smirked, "There's a difference between loyalty and falling into line of someone who controls your life with a fist around your neck. Danzo never did seem to know the difference. They had no idea about the sharingan? They didn't mention his plans?"

Jiraiya rubbed his stubble and stifled a yawn, "Well, they said towards the end he started acting strange. Twitchy, you could say. He wouldn't leave his house without at least one ROOT member following him; he had someone keeping tabs on where he was at every moment, just in case for some reason he didn't show."

"He knew someone wanted to kill him?"

"A man like that? I'm surprised he wasn't looking over his shoulder every day of his life. Though I definitely think you put the fear of God into him some days. Other than that, none of them said anything too useful for right now. Those shinobi though- there's a lot of blood on their hands if what they alluded to is even scratching the surface."

Tsunade gave her office door a harder yank than strictly necessary, hearing the handle split under her fingers. She'd get Shizune to replace it in the morning.

"Now that Danzo's dead and the curse seals are gone, I'll give Ibiki permission to interrogate them- strictly above board. If they want to redeem themselves in my eyes, they can tell me every mission; every assassination; every black mark on their record and we can deal with it accordingly. If not... I think I'm tired of having the roots of this tree rotting away beneath us."

She let the implication hang in the air between them, unsure if Jiraiya would try and protest. Desperate times called for desperate measures, and she was getting tired of people trying to undermine her.

"What about Sai?" Jiraiya asked, "We know he's on our side now, he's done enough to prove it. Should we interrogate him?"

"Danzo knew Sai was a compromised member of the team, he hasn't seen the inside of a ROOT hideout in years. Team 7 certainly had their way with him."

She didn't bother to hide the touch of pride in her voice. Sai had spent his life being groomed by ROOT to be a killer, and now he was a, albeit only mostly, functioning member of the Konoha jounin group. She reached for a scroll of paper, scraping absently at the mud under her fingernails as she headed for her desk. She would need to tell Jiraiya what had happened tonight; if Danzo was the one who had exhumed Sasuke's body, she doubted he would have told anyone, even his most trusted confidants. ROOT might have been a dead end for now, but they had a new lead to follow.

"Tsunade- don't move."

She froze in place, decades of time being Jiraiya's teammate having ingrained a trust she had with very few people. Jiraiya was bent over her desk, kunai outstretched to touch something placed atop it. Her fingers twitched, the tension from Jiraiya's sudden shift in demeanor curled tight in her gut and aching for release. He finally beckoned her closer, deciding whatever it was to be harmless. She made her way over, still humming in her bones from the adrenaline he had caused. A plain, cream folder sat in the centre of her desk; a sleek red ribbon tied around it like a gift.

"Tell me that isn't what I think it is."

Her own handwriting along the side of the folder confirmed it.

Someone had delivered Hatake Kakashi's medical records directly to her desk.

* * *

"Could I get a room, please?"

The portly older woman behind the bar smiled as she wiped the inside of a tall glass with a rag. The evening crowd was small and quiet, mostly older men playing shogi over small cups of sake. She had never stopped in this village before, there rarely seemed a need to pause so close to Konoha, but the adrenaline from the forest was rushing in her ears and she knew it would be safer to lay low until the morning. She had stolen a large blue coat from a back porch, tucking a small handful of coin into the pocket of the one beside it with a mental apology. With her hair wrapped tight under her scarf, and her mission attire hidden below the thick fabric, she looked like any other weary traveller, simply looking for somewhere to rest.

"Bit late for such a sweet lady like you to be out on your own. Will someone be joining you?"

Sakura forced herself to smile, pulling to coat tighter around her chest, "No, just me. I'm passing through to visit my jii-chan in the north and I was too scared to keep going through the night. I'll only need a single room for this evening."

The woman set the glass on the stained countertop and fished underneath it, reappearing with a the jingle of metal on metal.

"Up the two staircases, last door on your left. No smoking, no visitors- _especially_ the kind you pay for. We don't serve breakfast but there's a bakery down the street that opens at dawn. Plan your travels better next time, young lady... there's all kinds of sorts out in the forest these days. Don't know what that Hokage woman is doing down in that shinobi village; she should be cleaning up the riff raff we have to deal with, not teaching kids how to throw knives at each other-"

Sakura took the key in her hand and bowed before she headed towards the winding wooden staircase tucked away in the corner. She took the opportunity to cast her eyes around the room, making note of the exits and the clientele. The inn was modest, the first one she had come across when she passed the village gates. The outside was weathered and slightly run down; the interior walls showed grooves and gouges of kunai and shinobi weaponry, likely from the occasional bar brawl or unexpected ambush during a mission. A musty scent lingered in the air, mingled with a hint of something foul that made Sakura screw her nose up. Had this been any other mission she would have skipped over the town altogether, but with Tsunade's warning and her strict instructions, Sakura was willing to take the time. She had made it to the village in just under three and a half hours, midnight shrouding the tiny, quiet houses that lined the single main street. Her calves ached and her heart thundered, now-cold sweat sticking her clothes to her back and plastering her hair to the nape of her neck. Now with a clearer head, she felt almost stupid for her knee-jerk reaction. Anything could have been following her in the forest, she could have killed a hefty squirrel for all she knew now; especially since she had come across nothing but silence since the incident.

She let her mission pack drop onto the paisley bed cover and shed the coat, tossing it off into the corner and she stretched her arms above her head and gazed out the window. The village itself had no public lighting, only the glow from the inn windows or private homes illuminating the streets. The room was stifled with warm air, begging for the soft breeze to be let in. Sakura cracked the window the barest amount before lodging a kunai in the window runner, preventing it from being opened any further. The bathroom was small and cramped; a shower, sink and toilet squished into the room and illuminated by a flickering lightbulb. The water pressure was good, however, and the hot water rushed from the taps with almost no delay.

"This wasn't exactly how I envisioned my night," she mused quietly, letting the water run through her sweaty hair and over her sore muscles.

 _Envisioned it with a bit more Kakashi,_ she thought, scrubbing her face with her hands. Her decision to ask him to dinner had fuelled an almost giddy adrenaline in her that carried through most of the beginning of her mission, possible scenarios playing through her head to pass the time.

"Hey, Kakashi," she mumbled, scratching at her scalp, "Want to go for dinner? With me? On a date. Even though I was your student?"

She'd scratched that one immediately. Anything that could remind him of their age difference or past as teacher and student was going to be pushed off to the side. It occurred to her she'd never asked out a man before. Sasuke didn't count. Neji had been more of a mutual decision between the two of them, as had their break up. All of her dates before and after him had always been initiated by the man, though she was the one who had ended all of them. Sakura turned around and screwed up her nose when she caught sight of her reflection. The small bathroom setup placed the sink directly across from the clear glass of the shower, forcing her to see herself if she turned around. Sakura slicked back her hair and pouted the way she had seen Ino do, fluttering her eyelashes.

"Date me, Kakashi."

She snorted at herself and pulled her hair back into place.

"Ugh, this shouldn't be this hard. I'm a strong kunoichi, I've kicked all kinds of ass."

Sakura cranked the water heat, tipping her head back and letting it run across her face.

"Kakashi, I've been thinking," she said, breaking open the small bar of soap resting in the clamshell holder, "We've been spending a lot of time together, and I think maybe we could... spend more time together. No- Kakashi. I want to take you to dinner. Just the two of us. And maybe the night can end with some kissing?"

She knocked her head against the tiled wall and grunted. Everyone around her had coupled off so easily, it seemed. She would admit, only to herself and on one notable occasion after a little too much umeboshi and a tragic romance novel- to Pakkun- that she missed the comfort of another person in her life. Ino had Shikamaru; Hinata had finally pulled herself together and spoken to Naruto. She had seen the way Genma came up behind Shizune when he surprised her at work, bending down to kiss where her neck and shoulder met, making her eyes close and her lips curl. Even Tsunade had, in some form or another, Jiraiya. And beyond that, she thought with a flush in her cheeks that wasn't a result of the water temperature- there was only so long you could go without a physical presence.

Sakura slammed off the water with one hand and shook her head, sending water everywhere. She was had only just embraced the idea of asking her former sensei to dinner- she was _not_ going to let her thoughts linger anywhere into _that_ territory. Despite how good she knew he looked under his shirt; and the way his jounin pants clung to him in a way she could definitely appreciate. She'd been at the onsen when women had seen Kakashi enter on the other side, their giggles not nearly as quiet as they assumed as they gossiped about what they had heard about him and his attributes.

It had certainly been an enlightening trip to the bathhouse. That was for sure.

The small blue towel they provided was soft to her skin as she dried her hair, wiping her hand over the mirror and staring critically at her reflection. Her lack of sleep showed, two dark shadows cutting down below her eyes and a hood to her eyelids. She let her gaze drop lower, turning side to side to get a better view of her torso. She'd long since passed the days of glaring down other kunoichi, but there were days she certainly envied Ino and her gracefully curved hips; or Hinata's large chest. She cupped one breast, catching the stray water droplets that clung there while the other dropped to the flare of her waist into her hip. She smiled. Kakashi had definitely taken notice of her outfit that night on the training grounds. Maybe she would add something similar to her daily clothing rotation.

Sakura slipped into the black pants and large shirt she had packed for sleeping; practical in case of an attack, but still comfortable enough to fall asleep. Steam rushed out of the cramped room when she opened the door, mingling with the cold air coming in from the window. Most of the lights that had pocked marked the village were now extinguished, sending her window view into nothing but darkness. She would leave when dawn broke, hopefully mingling in among the men and women travelling to their jobs in the village surrounds.

She slipped beneath the covers of the small bed, punching the pillows to her desired fluffiness before snuggling into them. She heard the creak of the floorboards in the hall, followed by the jingling of keys and the low groan of a door opening and closing. And then silence.

"Kakashi... would you like to go out for dinner with me this weekend? I've enjoyed spending time with you lately, and I think..."

 _I know_

"I think I'm interested in trying to be..."

 _A couple_

 _Together_

 _Friends..._

 _with benefits?_

 _Yours_

"More than friends."

She smiled, suppressing a girlish squeal into her fist as she kicked her legs under the blanket.

She was going to finish this mission as fast as she could- and nothing was going to get in her way.

* * *

 **A/N- Happy season! Are you celebrating anything this time of year, or just hanging out until the New Year? I recently hosted a Christmas party because I decided I was an ADULT and I would do that. Never again. Ever.**

 **Sakura practicing asking Kakashi out is based on how I asked out my boyfriend. We recently celebrated our 7 year anniversary and every year he loves to remind me that I seduced him with the phrase "Do you, wanna, uhm, could we go on a date or something? if you want. Only if you want."**

 **It worked though, so I suppose he can't laugh too hard.**

 **Thank you for everyone who reviewed, I'm so blown away by the response to this story.**


	22. Chapter 22

He was laying under the camphor tree, gazing up at the leaves dancing in the tickling breeze. The sun, warm and calming on his face, peeked through the gaps and cast shadows on the grass around him. He breathed deep, stretching his arms and bringing them to cross behind his head. He didn't remember how he got here, but he wasn't sure it mattered. From his place on the ground, he could see the impossibly large trunk of the tree, gnarled with age and battle scars from the many wars it had survived. The grass beside him was thick and lush, almost high enough to conceal him where he lay. In the distance, birds chirped and whistled.

"Ne, Kakashi-kun!"

Rin's face appeared above his, a wide smile plastered cheek to cheek. She looked older than he had ever seen her- but still bright and full of life as her hand came down on his bare cheek. His mask was gone- when had he taken it off?

"You've been day dreaming again, silly!"

"I must have," he mumbled in response, rubbing his stubble with one hand while he watched her flop ungracefully into the grass beside him. The wind whistled through the camphor leaves and she looked up into the sky, her body only visible to him in slivers of brown and purple between the leaves.

"I like it here, Kakashi-kun... I'm so glad you brought me."

"I did?"

She laughed again, the sound mingling with the soft warble of the distant birds, "You don't remember, Kakashi-kun?"

She appeared beside him again, her elbow propped on his chest and pillowing her chin in the open palm. Her hair hung around his face like a curtain as she leaned in to press a soft, innocent kiss to his forehead. The scent of fresh market peaches clung to his skin as she pulled away and wandered towards the base of the tree, spinning in the sunlight.

Behind him, something rustled in the trees and he glanced back to see nothing but a dark, empty void. Kakashi turned back to Rin, only to find the grass beside him empty, swaying in the breeze without any indication she had been there in the first place.

"Kakashi!"

That wasn't Rin...

The dark void behind him was gone, now finding himself staring into a pair of green eyes. Sakura held out a cup of tea. The surroundings of the camphor were gone, replaced by the small tea shop he and Sakura had visited earlier in the spring. Where had the camphor gone? Where was Rin?

"Sakura, I think something isn't right."

Sakura smiled and placed her hand atop his, coaxing him to curl his hands around the warmth of the mug. She reached out a hand, stroking her fingers down the side of his bare cheek.

"What are you talking about, Kakashi? There's nothing to be worried about anymore. Everything's going to be okay now. You worry too much."

They were kissing. Her hands cupped his cheeks and he leaned into the touch. She was wearing peppermint on her lips, he could feel the cooling tingle of it. She pulled away from him and frowned over his shoulder, her eyes wide and brimming with tears.

"Kakashi... what did you do to him?"

It was Sasuke. Or what was left of him. He was missing an arm, the sleeve of his filthy and torn yukata dangling empty beside him; flesh rotting from his face in decomposing clumps that peeled back to expose stark white bones. His mouth was only a haphazard gash of mud, falling open to let out a deep throated groan that rocked Kakashi to his core. He reached back for Sakura, only to find himself alone in an open field. Sasuke stumbled forward, his one remaining arm reaching up to pry open his glued eyelids, exposing his bloodied, decaying eyeballs that even now still spun with the tomoe of his sharingan.

"Ka...shi..."

Kakashi jerked awake, panic in his throat and adrenaline thundering in his ears. The kunai he kept beside his bed was clutched in his hand, raised against an intruder that didn't exist. The dream was slipping from his brain with every bleary blink of his eyes. When the room finally sharpened into focus, he let the weapon slip onto the floor as he cradled his head in his hands. He could hear the tapping of Pakkun's nails on the floor as he approached, pushing his cold, wet nose into the crook of Kakashi's neck.

"Boss? Boss you okay?"

His brain finally lifted out of the fog the forced sleep had caused, he felt his stomach tighten and roll, remembering the events of the evening before he had woken up in bed. He barely made it to the bathroom, where the cold tile jarred his knees as he fell to them, retching into the toilet. Bile burned up into the back of his throat, forcing him to gag seemingly without end until he was braced on his forearms against the chilly porcelain bowl. He felt Pakkun push a damp cloth against his thigh and he wiped at his face, relishing in the feeling of the cool water.

"The Hokage lady brought you here last night. Said to tell you she was sorry but you were gunna do something that wouldn't help. Boss, about the kid-"

"Not today, Pakkun...please."

He didn't have the energy to fight Tsunade for what she did- not today. As much as he despised her right now for her decision, even he could admit to himself he hadn't been in any headspace to be making decisions. He pushed his knuckle deep into the corner of his eye with a grunt, trying to reason that storming the Hokage building would only get him in more trouble with her and everyone else in the vicinity.

Kakashi stayed on the bathroom floor for a long time, letting the cold tile and stark walls calm clear his mind. A long time ago, he would have wondered what he could do now. How could he continue about his day with the knowledge he had weighed heavily on his shoulders. But now he was older. Now, he had survived the Third Shinobi War; the Konoha Crush; the innumerable missions he had undertaken that had left him with marks he would never be able to remove.

Kakashi looked out over the balcony, watching as the sun began to peer even higher over the horizon, the palest shade of blue starting to streak across the sky. People were already bustling below him; he could smell fresh bread and hear the familiar rattling of storefronts opening; blurs across rooftops showed shinobi already darting back and forth in the early hours. That was the thing about Konoha, really. It didn't matter what was happening, or what _had_ happened.

They continued on.

* * *

Sakura's eyes snapped open in the darkened room, heart pulse spiked and heart thundering in her chest. Only the barest sliver of pink light from the rising sun could be seen on the horizon, rippled with deep navy and yellow.

There was only silence in the cramped quarters- so what had woken her?

A kunai gripped in her hand, she rolled over in the bed and squinted into the corners, curiously searching for any chakra signatures but finding nothing. It wasn't unusual for her to wake up at any moment, especially on missions. But something made the hairs on her arms prickle and raise...

"Nothing like some run of the mill paranoia to keep you on your toes," she mumbled when she finally managed to relax, certain there was nothing lurking in the room with her. She flopped back into the covers, looking out the window to where the sun would likely be risen within the hour. The early start would certainly benefit her, and her rush of adrenaline wasn't likely to allow her to get back to sleep any time soon. Creeping to the door, she pushed it open and peered into the hallway. The silence was almost eerie; only a thin sliver of light from the door across the hall throwing shadows and breaking the darkness. She eased the door closed again and began packing, once again covering her hair and wrapping the pilfered coat around her mission attire. She would discard it once she was out of sight of the village, but until then she could play the part of weary traveller and hope no one questioned her. It was only once she had triple checked her weapons that she crept silently down the hall, hoping to slip out unnoticed before the sun rose.

"I have to tell you, this is far earlier than I like to welcome visitors."

Sakura froze in place, foot hovering in the air and her hand tensing on the wooden railing. She couldn't see from her current vantage point, but she recognized the voice of the inn keeper from the night before.

"You have our most sincere apologies, ma'am, but this is incredibly important. You're sure you've had no shinobi pass through the town?"

Sakura's pulse quickened and she eased backwards on the stairs, Tsunade's orders ringing away in her mind. And yet...

Sakura glanced around the staircase and smiled in silent victory when she saw a cracked panel of wood close to the bottom, but still obscured by the wall. She slipped down the stairs, still straining to hear the hush voices of the people below. The crack was small, but when pressed flush against the wall Sakura could see into the bar, making out the silhouette of the woman and two other, much larger shadows. Their thick, brown coats were pulled tight around the, collars upturned to disguise the lower halves of their face. From what she could tell from the distance, neither of them wore any noticeable hitai-ate.

"Shinobi? No, I can't say I have. We haven't had any shinobi in a few weeks, now that I think about it."

"You're sure?"

"Why, are they dangerous?"

"Very. There's no one you can think of who may have come through- acting suspiciously?"

Sakura's hand curled around her weapon.

"Well... I did have someone come in rather late last night. Two people, actually. One of them was a young woman, she said she was travelling to the north to see her grandfather. It did seem a little strange someone so young was travelling alone..."

Sakura saw the two men stiffen slightly and she backed away from the wall; taking the stairs two at a time and hearing the woman's voice, now tinged with panic, following up behind her.

"Well I put her in a room upstairs.. if you say she's dangerous-"

Sakura knew she could easily vault herself out the window in her room and disappear, but that would rouse suspicion. No regular patron was likely to go flinging themselves out a third story window, and the last thing she wanted was a tail on her mission.

 _The bolder the move, the less they'll question it._ She reminded herself as she slipped back into her room, hurriedly stuffing her weapons into the hidden bottom of her backpack. She had never been as thankful for the gift from Neji as she was now. Her hitai-ate was tossed unceremoniously on top of the jumbled weapons and she slid the flap closed, covering it with her clothes. She had no idea what skill level the shinobi downstairs were, but she couldn't assume a simple henge would fool them. Instead, Sakura sucked in a deep, slow breath and focused, feeling the soft pulse of her chakra working through her veins. Tsunade's transformation technique was far more complicated than a henge jutsu, and much harder to spot to the untrained eye. While she felt her appearance morph and shift, she hurried around the room, tossing underwear on the floor, rumpling the bed, and stripping off her clothes. No self respecting shinobi would leave their room in such a disarray on a mission. She could hear footsteps in the hall and she took a glance in the mirror as she entered the bathroom, cranking the taps and dunking her head under the spray. Her pink hair was now cropped and blonde, her face much softer, a roundness of youth touching at her cheeks and her figure. Under her coat, it wasn't likely the inn keeper had seen much of her the night before- not enough to question any sudden changes.

She could hear the sharp, aggressive pounding on her door and she shut off the shower and wrapped a towel around her body, padding over the to the door and letting it swing open, giving a clear view of the room.

"I'm sorry, was I being too noisy?"

The two men were tall, tall enough that she had to crane her neck to meet their eyes. She'd had almost no doubts that they weren't Konoha shinobi, but now she was sure of it. Their eyes were sharp blue, marked with crows feet around the corners, but the rest of their faces were concealed beneath black masks.

 _Kakashi's look is catching on,_ she thought as she fidgeted and pulled her towel closer, playing the part of a woman intruded upon without warning. They were good, she could see them scanning the room behind her and they hadn't dropped their guard down. The woman lingered behind them, looking torn between sheepish and concerned.

"Is there a problem?" she asked quietly, scuffing her bare toes on the floor and pulling at the hem of the towel as though trying to coax it lower.

"Who are you?" one demanded, and Sakura cowered meekly.

"My name is Fujiwara Natsumi, I'm from the Nashi Village in the south of Fire Country. Please, have I done something wrong?"

She looked up, eyes shining with tears that she let drip onto the swell of her cheeks. One of the men pushed past her, sweeping the room with one hand tucked into his cloak, no doubt gripping a weapon. The other crouched down to her eye level.

"While you've been travelling, have you come upon any shinobi?"

"No, shinobi-san. Only just now."

She heard her backpack drop to the floor, clothes spilling onto the ground but her weapons remaining tucked away. The man searching her room seemed content with his findings and knocked by her again, stepping in the puddle of water her drenched her was leaving on the floor. The two men conversed quietly under their breath before they swept away, leaving her framed in the doorway.

"I'm so sorry, miss," the woman gasped. Splotches of pink had risen high on her cheeks and she bowed her head in Sakura's direction, "They were concerned about a threat, you were the only person last night I could think may have been who they were looking for,"

"Of course, I know it's strange of me to be travelling alone. I'm just glad there are shinobi out there to protect us in times like this."

The last phrase contained more bite than she had intended, still remembering the woman's words from the night before and her distaste for shinobi.

"I hope you don't mind my asking," Sakura began, catching the woman as she headed for the stairs, "But I wasn't the only person to check in last night, was I? I heard someone in the room across the hall... am I safe with whoever they are? Will they be searched too?"

"Oh no, miss. Your neighbour is a regular of the inn, he's..." the woman looked left and right before coming closer, dropping her tone, "He's badly abled, unfortunately. The men weren't interested in him. Seems the person they're looking for is incredibly dangerous."

 _You're damn right I am._

"Well, I'll be sure I watch my back on my travels. I'll be leaving once I'm finished here."

She was grateful when the woman disappeared down the staircase without looking back. It wasn't until she had firmly closed the door that Sakura let herself unclench her muscles and wilt back against the wood, her heart thundering in her ears. The men had no identifying village features, giving her no indication as to who they could be working for. She didn't even know if it was her they were looking for. It seemed unlikely to be a coincidence, but stranger things had happened. Even so... telling Tsunade would _technically_ be the right thing.

Sakura peered out the window, the slowly awakening village now shining enough light for her to see the figures of the two men heading deeper into town- far away from her. For now, it certainly seemed as though she was safe. There was no need to worry Tsunade. Not just yet. The close call had, however, awakened a new energy in her, and she was leaving the run down inn not ten minutes later, not wanting to push her luck and linger longer than was necessary. The evergreen forest was a day's journey away at the very least, unless she forced herself harder. Normally, she would weigh the consequences of overexertion as a shinobi, but after the two run ins she had already had with other shinobi, and Tsunade's worries now sharpening into reality- she was sure she could bounce back. She kept her pace slow, ambling through the forest until she couldn't see even a speck of the village behind her. Two soldier pills cracked open on her back teeth as she launched herself up into the trees, bouncing off branches and trunks as fast as she could, letting it all become a blur of green around her. She had seen Kakashi's name in the bingo books back when she was a genin, long before the harsh reality of being a shinobi had truly sunken into her bones. She remembered she had asked him once, when they were sitting beside a dying fire and Naruto and Sasuke's snores had mingled around them.

"What's it like? To be wanted by all these people?"

Kakashi, in true form, hadn't answered. Her eyes had been drooping and the remains of the fire smouldering in the pit before she had heard his quiet response, casual as anything as he flicked through his novel.

"Like living in constant fear, Sakura. Don't make it a goal to end up in one of those."

* * *

"Every shinobi assigned to guard this building is fired."

The medical file lay discarded on the top of her desk, the pages pulled free and turned over in her hands more times than she could count. Jiraiya grimaced at her as he reached for it, gathering the stray slips of paper and stacking them back together.

"I'd say that's a bit of an overreaction, personally-"

"Do _you_ have an explanation as to how someone got into _my office_ without any one of the six guards noticing them other than blatant idiocy on their behalf?"

"A high level of experience on behalf of the person doing the sneaking?" Jiraiya suggested, flicking through the file as though hoping it would start singing the answers they were looking for. Another night spent in the Hokage Tower hadn't done any of them any good. Tsunade had fallen asleep hunched over her desk, head pillowed on a stack of papers at a tedious tilt, "You and I have done our fair share of high security infiltration."

"That was different!"

"Because it was _us_ doing the sneaking on another Kage and not _them_ doing the sneaking on you?"

Tsunade growled under her breath and snatched the file away, shoving it unceremoniously into her desk and slamming the drawer.

"There's no reason for whoever did this to drop it here unless they wanted to taunt me. They could just as easily have slipped it into the hospital, but no- they wanted me to know they can get in here without being seen. They _wanted_ to hurt Konohamaru enough for him to _almost_ die. Anko might be willing to believe she imagined someone saying her name the night of the attack, but whose to say it wasn't a warning- just for fun? Spreading these rumors; dropping breadcrumbs everywhere...This person is toying with us, Jiraiya. Who hates me enough to play with me like this before they try and kill me?"

"Would you like that list alphabetically or in order of likelihood of success?"

"This isn't a _joke,_ Jiraiya. The safety of this village is at stake, I won't let Konoha end up back in a pit of terror. I refuse to fail this village like other Kages failed theirs!"

"Do you know why I recommended you for the position of Hokage?"

"Because you didn't want the responsibility and you knew the village Elders wanted someone the village knew had helped in the past so it could boost morale around here."

Jiraiya had the decency to look sheepish, but settled a hand on the curve of her shoulders, "Maa, I can't deny that- but even you have to know that isn't the only reason why. Look at what you've done for this village and the people in it, Tsunade. You're letting this get too close to your head, and I think Sakura being involved isn't helping any. What would you do if this wasn't happening and you weren't Hokage, ne?"

Tsunade pursed her lips and stared hard at the heavy wooden door that shut her office off from the rest of the building. Had they used the door? Scaled the outside of the building and come through the window? Henge-ed into a potted plant and come into the room in the arms of a messenger?

She would go to her grave saying that Naruto took years from her life that day.

With a heavy sigh, she reached under the desk for a fresh scroll of paper, stamping the seal of Konoha into the top corner.

"What are you doing?"

"Requesting a personal audience with the Tsuchikage. Whatever this is, and whether he knows it or not- he's involved somehow; and it ends now. I have another job for you."

Jiraiya grinned, "More interrogation? I'm sure Ibiki would just love my company to interrogate those ROOT members."

Tsunade didn't crack a smile.

"No. I need you to go back to Danzo's house. Search everything. Under every rug, move every chair- open every damn cupboard. Tear holes in the walls if you have to."

"What am I looking for?"

Tsunade scratched away at the paper, swallowing the sick she could feel burning at the back of her throat. She had ample time the night before to tell Jiraiya what had happened, but even she hadn't been able to put it into words. Finally, not allowing herself to look up at him, she cleared her throat.

"Uchiha Sasuke's body. Or at this point, whatever's left of it."

* * *

Today was going to be a good day, Ibiki had decided. His mission paycheck had been picked up, his roster was free for the coming week, and his coffee was hot in his hand.

"Morino-san, this message arrived for you from the Hokage before dawn this morning."

Ibiki sighed as he set the steaming mug down on his desk and peeled back the wax seal of the Godaime, frowning at the names inked on the paper- just shy of two dozen. He recognized most of them, having come across several of the shinobi at various points during his career. His gaze went to the bottom of the scroll and he cocked an eyebrow.

DANZO DEAD. ROOT MEMBERS TO BE INTERROGATED. COMPLIANCE OR EXECUTION.

"I assume the Hokage is interested in what you can find out from us,"

Ibiki looked over his shoulder, finding Sai standing closer than necessary. He'd heard the deliberately weighted footsteps approaching him from afar, and he knew Sai had likely done it for his benefit. The ROOT part of the man may be in the past, but the tricks he had learned would take longer to dissipate.

"You say 'us' as though you're still one of them," he said, taking a long drain from his mug before he set the scroll down. Sai seemed unfazed by the comment, only blinking slowly before opening his mouth wide. Ibiki leaned forward in his chair, peering back to find where the curse seal had once been was now replaced by a large, circular looking burn mark.

 _That_ certainly piqued his interest.

"It lifted itself at the moment of Danzo's death; any member of ROOT will now be able to speak freely of their time there. I doubt many of them will want to, but I thought I would come to you before you came to me."

 _Compliance or execution,_ Ibiki thought as he rubbed his face, the last lingering tiredness long gone from the corners of his eyes. _Tsunade certainly isn't messing around._

"Well where would you like to start-"

"Seven years ago I murdered five Iwagakure shinobi on Danzo's orders, he did not specify why he required them dead. I also killed Samidare Unmo; his anger towards Konoha was considered a threat. I took part in several assassination attempts against the Kages of several villages, though none were successful. I was also assigned to a trio of ROOT members whose primary objective was to ensure Uchiha Sasuke did not return to the village, we were given orders to kill him on sight. I was still part of this mission when assigned to work with Team Seven; however I did not comply when given the opportunity to fight Sasuke. At that point, Danzo suspected my loyalty to him was wavering, and I was removed from ROOT. The Hokage-sama was aware ROOT was operating underground and that I was unable to speak about the situation, but considered my ability to break free from the organization under my own merit would make me a valuable shinobi asset to Konoha. Since then I have had no further contact with Danzo. Admittedly," Ibiki watched as Sai's brow creased before he spoke, clearly choosing his words carefully, "I have always wondered why Danzo allowed me to remain alive after my failure in killing Sasuke, particularly when he knew my loyalties had been changed. Even though I was unable to speak about ROOT, I still believed one day he may try to have me killed. My underlying suspicions are that he wanted me alive for another purpose, though now that he is dead it isn't likely I'll ever know for sure."

Ibiki looked up from his hasty notes and shrugged one shoulder, "Not something you need to worry about then. I'll be sure to inform the Hokage that you brought yourself to me willingly to state your case. It's likely that you won't endure harsh punishments, especially given that you haven't associated with ROOT in a long time. It will, however, be her decision how to proceed with your involvement in past offences. Is there anything else?"

Sai reached into the pocket of his grey pants, pulling out a perfectly folded piece of paper and smoothing it out. Line after line of small, neat handwriting covered the page; names, dates, missions and squad members all neatly organized. Ibiki looked up into Sai's blank, emotionless face. He had felt for a long time that Sai would make an excellent addition to his interrogation squad. Even some of his best shinobi weren't able to control their faces to the same extreme as he did; to separate themselves so far from their own emotions. He had broached the idea with Tsunade more than once, but she continued to insist that Sai be allowed to continue his path of growth; to move as far away from the person Danzo had created as would be possible. Ibiki slipped the paper into his notebook and offered Sai and a sharp nod of approval.

"If the Hokage requires anything more from you, I'll have someone send word. Have a good day, Sai."

The smile that ticked at the edges of Sai's lips almost looked real, Ibiki noted as he watched the young jounin walk away. Ibiki waited until Sai was gone before he waved over one of his interrogators, handing them the list of shinobi the Hokage had sent to him, torn away from the letter. He doubted that the shinobi listed here was the full extent of ROOT, but faced with execution, he was sure most people would be willing to share names in exchange for clemency.

"Find them and bring them in. By force if required, non-lethal only. The Hokage wants information; keep them separate and try and round them up as fast as possible, I don't want word leaking out and some people trying to run for it."

The interrogator disappeared, list in hand, while Ibiki steepled his fingers and gazed down at the rest of the letter. Hopefully the ROOT members felt like sharing. If not, it seemed as though Tsunade was finished negotiating.

* * *

It was almost noon by the time Kakashi finally decided he should get out of his bed, and most of that decision had been driven by the ever increasing growls coming from his gut. He sniffed the milk in the container with slight suspicion, but shrugged it off before dumping the remaining liquid onto the bowl of puffed rice. He had already come up with a handful of ways to piss off Tsunade, but the more rational part of his brain was keeping him from putting any of them into action. Besides... it would upset Sakura. Stuffing the soaked cereal into his mouth, he flipped through _Icha Icha Paradise_ to come to his favourite chapter, letting himself get lost in the story. He had at least a half hour before his laundry would be done- the hefty bag he had dragged down four flights of stairs had stuffed quite nicely into one of the washers, and a well manoeuvred tipless tanto had meant he wouldn't have to pay to dry it. Kakashi picked a stray puff of cereal between his fingers and absently dropped it over the edge of the counter, frowning when he heard it connect lightly with the floor and bounce away. He peered down and the crease of his brow deepened when he didn't find a pile of ninken eagerly waiting to lap up his leftovers.

Quiet ninken were suspicious. Missing ninken were even worse. As if on cue, several staccato knocks echoed in his living room, forcing him to sigh and rub his brow. He _could_ ignore it...

"Kakashi-senpai? I know you're in there."

Ah. Yamato. At least it wasn't Gai. Kakashi didn't think he had the energy for that today. Kakashi let the door swing open, watching as Yamato's eyes darted from the unkempt hair to the frayed blue pyjama bottoms.

"Kakashi-senpai, I was wondering if you would like to join me to spar today? It's been a while since we-"

"The ninken came to you, didn't they?"

Yamato's cheeks flushed and his eyes flickered behind Kakashi, where Bull and Pakkun had suddenly appeared, both pictures of innocence where they were sprawled on the couch. Kakashi sighed.

"I'll meet you downstairs in ten minutes. You can buy me lunch after we spar."

The fact Yamato made no move to protest, only nodded and disappeared down the staircase, suggested the ninken had told him enough that he was willing to put up with being fleeced for the day if it meant Kakashi was out of the house. His dogs wouldn't have breached any security, they were too well trained for even the smallest of slip ups, but Yamato had also known Kakashi long enough to known that if the ninken were asking, it was important. Kakashi rounded on his dogs, who both blinked up at him with wide eyes. Pakkun cleared his throat, scratching behind his ear as he spoke.

"The pups are lookin' good; visited them myself this morning. The Inuzuka kids have already taken to a couple of them but there's this all black one that's got some attitude to her, she's been biting her brothers when they try and push her round. Bisuke reckons she's going to be a handful."

Kakashi blinked down at Pakkun, "You say that like all ninken aren't already."

"You can't prove we did anything." Bull grunted, "Bisuke will tell you we were with the pups all morning."

Kakashi didn't offer them an answer, he knew he was beaten. They meant well, and they had saved him in a pinch more times than he could count. He supposed he could humor them and leave the house. He let Yamato wait an extra ten minutes before he headed down the staircase and emerged out into the streets. The sky was bright blue and dotted with fluffy white clouds, a breeze rustling through the trees and whispering down the alleyways. A soft, damp hint in the air suggested rain, though the sky didn't betray it. Yamato fell into step beside Kakashi, hands deep in his pockets and nodding politely at every woman who walked by them.

"You have my apologies, Kakashi-senpai. I've been meaning to come by to ask how you have been since the first incident, but with several jounin out of commission, the Hokage had me running double missions for a few days. I'm glad Anko and Genma have both been approved for active duty again, I'm sure you're not far behind."

Kakashi waved his apology away, shaking his head to dissuade the man, "No need for an apology, Yamato. I'm sure most of the shinobi in the village have been under a lot of stress lately, and my injuries weren't anything severe."

"I did assume as much... give you and Sakura-san were sparring quite hard that night. I've heard you've been seeing quite a lot of her lately."

Yamato truly had mastered the look of wide-eyed innocence; even if his subtlety in segues could use work. Kakashi cocked an eyebrow and leapt over the wooden beams surrounding the training ground, beginning some basic stretches and absently fiddling with his weaponry. Yamato mimicked him, but his wide, unblinking eyes were following Kakashi's every move.

"This village gossips so much you would think it's full of old women," Kakashi remarked when he couldn't take the dead eyed stare any longer.

Yamato chuckled, the stare immediately softening into a smile that crinkled the corners of his eyes, "Apologies again, Kakashi-senpai. I couldn't help myself, _especially_ after the _help_ you and Genma-san offered in my courtship with the medic from Suna."

Kakashi smirked under his mask, but said nothing. Yamato frowned, cocking his head to the side.

"Do you hear somethin-"

"KAKASHI!"

Kakashi stepped to the side, avoiding the excitable blur of orange that flashed towards him. He'd been meaning to see Naruto since he had returned, other things had just taken precedence. Yamato seemed unfazed by the sudden appearance, offering Naruto an acknowledging head nod. Naruto flailed his arms, smacking Kakashi in the bicep as he circled him, gesticulating wildly.

"I left before I got a chance to see you, Kakashi! Sakura told me you were going to be okay and Baa-chan needed me to go to Suna but I'm glad you're better! Baa-chan's been so busy she can't tell me all the stuff that's been happening and Sakura's not here, Ino says there was a note saying she had to go on a mission so I was thinking we could get ramen at Ichiraku and you could tell me about the mission because when I saw you guys outside the gates you looked _awful_ and then Sakura-chan sent me a slug to tell me about the village attack and I've seen Konohamaru and _he_ told me what happened about that, I can't believe I missed it and that we don't know who did it-"

"He's quite energetic today," Yamato muttered behind his hand under the pretense of scratching his nose. Kakashi side eyed him.

"I'd like to remind you that you were only their Team Captain for a short while," Kakashi murmured back, knowing that Naruto was too wrapped up in his flailing story to hear them anyway, "I dealt with this for _years_."

"-And _then_ , Ero-sennin let me eat _seven bowls of ramen!"_

"Naruto," Kakashi interrupted, reach into his back pocket and pulling Icha Icha into his hand, "I bet after spending so much time in Suna, you're excited to get back into training."

Naruto paused, pursing his lips and shrugging one shoulder, "Ne, not really..."

"Oh my, how unfortunate. Because you see, Yamato here was _so interested_ in sparring with me today, but I think I'm starting to get a twinge? Right here in my neck..."

If looks could kill, Yamato would have had him in the ground by now. Kakashi rubbed his neck, sighing heavily, "Though you're not up to it, and I'd hate to let him down. Sakura will be upset if I push my training though... ah, she's not here... what could it hurt."

As expected, under threat of Sakura, Naruto bounced into action, "I can spar with Yamato-taichou! I can show you my new version of the Sexy no Jutsu!"

Kakashi relaxed against one of the large boulders, flipping absently to where he had left off and letting the sun shine down on his face, "Sounds fascinating, Naruto. I'll referee the match shall I?"

Yamato was glaring holes into his head. He could feel it. Naruto's wild battle cry sounded in the air and Kakashi looked up to see Yamato easily deflect Naruto's shuriken with a log clone. Kakashi smiled, letting the sounds of the sparring fall away as he busied himself in the novel. H remembered being curled up on the couch with Sakura while they read together, and was happy to note that they had fallen asleep before the plot had taken a steamy turn. He smiled at the thought of Sakura and looked out into the treeline, wondering what she was doing right now.

* * *

Sakura leaned against the tree, gasping for breath and wiping the thick layer of blood from her face. The remains of the two men from the village were strewn around her; the arm she had ripped from one's socket in one hard yank now dangling from a tree branch; a single eyeball staring up at her from the dirt. She nursed her split lip and pushed hard against the bloodied wound that had been torn open in her gut; noting when she spat against a tree trunk that it was tinged with blood. The corpse of the tallest man was off to her left, his face shattered from a well placed punch that had rendered him unrecognizable. The smaller shinobi had faired slightly better, save for the missing eye and arm, though Sakura swore she could still feel his heart beating in her hand where she had ripped it out when she had unpinned her arm from his vice like grip. She had heard them coming, but not fast enough to dodge their first attack. Thankfully, landing a hit on her so easily seemed to make them believe she would be an easy target, and she had landed several debilitating punches. The thought that they would follow her had lingered in her mind, but after amost six hours of travel, she had assumed she was in the clear. Until suddenly she wasn't.

She was going to need to tell Tsunade about this.

Sakura staggered over to the discarded pouch, rummaging through it in the hope it would reveal something about the men. Pushing through weapons, she found a thin black pouch made of leather nestled at the base of the bag. Inside, an assortment of vials and needles were neatly aligned, glinting in the light that filtered through the trees. Sakura uncapped one of the vials and gave it a hesitant sniff, scrunching her nose at the heavily medicinal scent. A sedative, though not one she immediately recognized. Only the slight green tint and the hint of passion flower gave her any indication. These men had wanted her alive. Just as Tsunade had warned her.

"Katsuyu!"

It would take the summons a moment to arrive, and Sakura seized the opportunity to heal herself, feeling the sharp pain fade to a dull ache before fizzling into nothing. Sealing the weapons back in the pouch, she dragged the bodies together and dumped them at the base of the tree. Katsuyu could return them to Konoha, as well as her message for Tsunade. What the hell was she going to tell Tsunade?

"Sakura-sama, are you alright?"

Sakura turned to the slug, leaning heavily on it and closing her eyes, "Ah, Katsuyu, I'm fine now. I need you to take these men to Konoha, and tell Tsunade..."

Ah...

"Tell Tsunade-shishou I'm finishing the mission and not to worry, I'll explain when I return."

That would do for the time being. It would have to.


	23. Chapter 23

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Kakashi felt his hair ruffle as an explosion rocked the training ground and he looked up, squinting off into the distance to see Yamato emerge from the clearing smoke, Naruto grasped tightly by the collar.

"I almost had you there, Yamato-taichou!"

Yamato dumped Naruto to the ground before bending over, hands on his knees, "Maa, Naruto, you would have had me if you didn't battle cry before you attacked. Your chakra control had improved since the last time we sparred, have you been working with Jiraiya-san?"

Naruto's chest puffed up with pride and Kakashi smiled behind his mask. Their sparring session was almost evenly matched in points so far, though Naruto's seemingly boundless energy was starting to wear on Yamato. He had held his own against the hundreds of shadow clones Naruto had created in the beginning, but even Yamato seemed to know when he was defeated.

"Ero-sennin and I were working together before he had to leave again, but I've been sparring almost every day and Sakura-chan has been helping me with chakra control and Baa-chan sent me to the Kage Summit to represent Konoha because she said it would be a good opportunity for me to learn!"

 _More like she didn't want to go and she knew sending me wouldn't get anything done,_ Kakashi thought as he turned a page. Naruto was hopping from foot to foot, still buzzing with energy as he yammered in Yamato's ear, the man not being given a second to breathe or respond between ramblings. Tsunade's decision to train Naruto as the next Hokage had come shortly after Sasuke's death, though he knew it had been in the forefront of her mind for much longer. Minato had become Hokage at 23, and Naruto was soon to be 21. Tsunade, despite her outward appearance, wasn't getting younger; and she often admitted that had Konoha not been in dire straits at the time of the Sandaime's death, she would likely not have taken the position. It had never been a dream for her the way it had been for Naruto. Kakashi would, in the event of Tsunade's sudden death, become the interim Hokage until Naruto was approved by village elders. But if she was to step down, it would be at her discretion, and she planned to turn the title over to Naruto within the coming years.

"Oh! Iruka-sensei told me to remind you that you agreed to talk to the academy students tomorrow and not to be late."

Kakashi pursed his lips, "I don't remember agreeing to anything of the sort. I'm sure he'll find someone else."

Naruto stuffed his hands into his pockets, grin still bright and wide, "He said you'd say that so I'm supposed to give you this."

It was a photo of Iruka, a lit match held against the bottom of- Kakashi squinted, heart racing in his chest- _where the hell had Iruka gotten his special edition Icha Icha Tactics from!_

"Iruka-sensei says just show up and answer their questions and you'll get your book back."

Kakashi was scouring the image, but he could already tell the book was his. It still had the kunai mark in the bottom left corner; and the weird splotch on the title. It had been his first Icha Icha novel, the special edition with extra scenes and artwork- now long out of print. Even Jiraiya admitted he didn't know where to get one. How had Iruka gotten it? Kakashi bought the photo closer to his face, ignoring the muffled snicker from his companions. There, barely visible in the corner, was Genma's senbon.

That traitor.

"Boss?"

Kakashi felt a soft weight on his thigh, looking down to find Pakkun looking up at him, eyes darting between Naruto and Yamato.

"You told us to keep an eye on that place, remember? Well someone just showed up. They're looking for something."

He could already see curiosity bursting in Naruto's eyes, and he set his book down, feigning thought.

"You know, Naruto. I don't think Yamato has tried Ichiraku's new ramen flavor yet. It'd be a shame if he didn't get a chance to try it."

"YEAH! We could get ramen, Yamato-taichou!"

Yamato's betrayed eyes would have to wait, Kakashi decided as he watched Naruto all but drag Yamato away. He looked down at Pakkun, already tucking his book away. He'd had the ninken keeping surveillance on a few places around Konoha. The Uchiha compound, Danzo's house..

Sakura's house.

"Jiraiya just went into Danzo's house. Looks like he's looking for something."

Kakashi was already disappearing over the rooftops of the houses.

* * *

 _Esteemed Tsuchikage,_

 _It has been brought to my attention that there has been a breakdown in communication between our villages. As a shinobi, I'm sure you have seen first hand what can happen when village leaders let open conversation fall to the wayside. To rectify this issue, I would greatly appreciate an audience with you, and would be willing to to whatever it takes to make you feel comfortable. Respond at your earliest convenience, though I would hate for things to dissolve further between our villages._

 _Kind regards,_

 _Senju Tsunade, Godaime Hokage of Konohagakure._

"Mine was better," Tsunade muttered, filing several D-rank mission requests into the roster. Shizune clicked her tongue and continued writing, Tsunade's signature flowing flawlessly from her hand.

"I don't think threats and intimidation are the best course of action here, Tsunade-sama."

"And kissing his sandals is? _Most esteemed Tsuchikage-_ that man wouldn't know the sharp end of a kunai if someone stabbed him with it."

Letting Shizune proof read the letter had been a mistake, as much as she knew the Tsuchikage was more likely to respond to her kowtowing to him than anything else. As much as she wanted to settle this like shinobi, she was going to have to play into the politics of the situation. He had the upper hand right now, if Naruto's description of the Kage Summit was as accurate as possible. Her rise to power had caused ripples in the shinobi villages, and she knew many of her decisions had offended people in high places. There were many Kage out there who were looking for reasons to start a fight with her, and the Tsuchikage was handing them out. She needed to play coy and apologetic. It didn't matter what the truth was; the Tsuchikage didn't care about the truth. She needed proof of her innocence, and if it meant she had to butter him up, so be it. The thought made her feel dirty.

"Oh goodness! Tsunade-sama!"

Tsunade looked up and her heart leapt into her throat when she saw Katsuyu had appeared in the office, several smaller slugs disappearing to reveal two dead bodies and a large mission pack; all covered in blood. She was crouched beside them in seconds, seeing Sakura's handiwork all over them.

"Where is she?" she demanded to the slug, who stood her ground.

"Based on the location she summoned me to, she was only a half day's journey from the mission point. I assume she felt returning would be unnecessary, given how close she was to completion. She instructed me to return the bodies for identification, as well as the items she located in the mission pack for Shizune-san to analyze."

Shizune already had the pack in her hands, unfurling a tight black canvas to reveal the syringes and vials.

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune hissed, her forehead creased with suppressed rage, "Far be it from me to question your decisions as Hokage but sending Sakura on a solo mission _now?_ How could you possibly think that was a good idea? I could have gone if it was strictly necessary-"

"It needed to be her," Tsunade said quietly, her eyes lingering on the items in Shizune's lap.

"Why!"

"Because," the next words out of her mouth tasted bitter, but they had to be said, "I needed some idea of who was behind this."

Realization dawned in Shizune's eyes and Katsuyu, sensing an impending situation, disappeared from the room.

"So you sent her as- as _bait_?"

Tsunade felt her hackles raise at the accusation, words spitting out with more venom than she anticipated, "No, Shizune! She wasn't _bait,_ she was... a test."

The look on Shizune's face suggested she didn't find that much better, and Tsunade could already feel a migraine throbbing at the base of her skull. The mission hadn't been a farce; she needed the herbs from the forest and she needed them as soon as possible. She could, however, have just as easily sent Shizune. But sending Sakura provided her with the opportunity she couldn't pass up in times like this.

"Dammit, Shizune! I would never send her out there like a lamb for slaughter! I know she's more than capable of handling herself; and just in case she wasn't, I sent the Guard Platoon to shadow her."

Shizune looked like she might be having a silent fit, her face flushed pink to the very top of her cheeks and her breathing short and sharp through her clenched teeth, "Genma hasn't left the village,"

"It's against regulation for me to be without secondary bodyguards, in case there's an attack on the village. Genma is the better of the three in terms of combat and strategy, so I didn't send him. The other two were sent out the same night as Sakura, with orders to only interfere if situations became dire."

Shizune gestured to the two dead bodies, "Apparently they didn't consider _this_ a dire enough circumstance."

Privately, Tsunade had to admit she was concerned. Katsuyu may have been able to travel faster than any messenger bird, but she would think she would have heard from the men now. Outwardly, she was beginning to become concerned that Shizune might be about to throw her desk, so she kept her face blank.

"If Sakura was handling herself, they wouldn't have interfered. I warned Sakura that she might be followed so that she would be keeping aware of her surroundings. Raidou and Iwashi are looking for things she might not notice herself; suspicious people, unusual things. Jiraiya and I are both certain that Sakura is a target with whoever is orchestrating this whole plan, I was hoping sending her out solo would throw them for a loop enough for them to reveal _something_ about themselves. And now we have a lead,"

She gestured to the corpses on the floor.

"You could have _told_ Sakura-"

"If I had told her, it would likely result in her taking unnecessary risks to lure anyone out into the open. I told her to avoid engaging in combat; and not to identify herself as a shinobi if she needed to stop anywhere on her journey. I gave her enough information for her to be cautious without risking the integrity of the side mission."

The hard set of Shizune's shoulders and the sharp line of her jaw wasn't promising.

"I'll take the bodies and the vials to the lab. You can find me there later."

The door shut with a snap that perfectly punctuated the sharpness of Shizune's tone. Tsunade knocked her head against the window frame and glared out at the Hokage faces staring her down. Maybe she'd been to hard on them for some of their choices. Her gaze fell on the Sandaime's face, and she imagined it was mocking her. The choice hadn't been easy, by any means. But it was hardly the first time she, or any of the former Hokage's for that matter, had sent one of their own out in hopes of turning up a lead. She had memories, however foggy, of sitting atop her jii-chan's lap as he signed away at scrolls with a frown etched on his lips. Sakura was capable; she was stronger than anyone Tsunade had known.

And she cared for the people of the village so deeply that she would forgive Tsunade for her decisions.

She hoped.

* * *

Ibiki dragged his chair across the stone floors, the ear splitting screech not seeming to faze the shinobi sitting emotionless in the other seat. The chakra shackles bound around his wrists flickered soft blue as he moved, bringing one hand up to scratch his nose before he resumed his stoic gaze.

"So. Do you know why you're here?"

"No."

Ibiki smiled and leaned forward, planting his elbows on the table and making direct eye contact, "I need you to understand that lying isn't going to help you. You and I both know why you're here, and if you'd been honest with me, I might have considered undoing those cuffs of yours. But since you want to play games, I'm happy to leave them be."

"They don't bother me."

Ibiki leaned back in the chair and flicked through the shinobi's file, scanning what little information Tsunade had been able to find on the active members. Her message hadn't ruled out torture as an interrogation method, but if he could get more done without getting his hands dirty, it was always a better day.

"You obviously know Danzo is dead, which means he can't protect you. The Hokage has given an order that anyone who doesn't cooperate will be executed for treason. She's not looking fondly on traitors."

"You mean how she had the Uchiha traitor executed for treason?" the man's lips curled up into a half smirk, "Ah, wait... she didn't."

"Uchiha Sasuke was pardoned by a court of Konoha in exchange for information. Which is the same deal you're being offered here. We know you're a ROOT member, and the Hokage is being kind enough to convince us you deserve to live. I wouldn't squander that, if I were you. Especially considering you're not the first person I've interrogated today, and..." he made a show of flicking through the file of his own notes, stopping on one of them and pursing his lips, "It seems like _you_ were involved in an assassination attempt on the Fifth Kazekage. I don't know if anyone else was involved, but yours is a name I've been hearing all morning."

"Nobody from ROOT would betray their squad members. We're all here because we were the best of the best."

"That's nice. So you're saying you _weren't_ involved in the attempted assassination of the Sandaime? Or the infiltration of Iwagakure and the impersonation of its shinobi on attacks towards Konoha to try and create bad blood? Because the thing is; I don't think you understand what's really happening here. I'm sure Danzo was telling you that your secret little squad was operating with the Hokage's knowledge, but she's known about you since before she even took control of the village. Why she didn't uproot it entirely- well, that's her business. But whether or not be can prove you were part of these missions is irrelevant. You _are_ a member of ROOT, and unless you can give her a reason to keep you alive, she _is_ going to have you executed. And nobody is going to stop her."

The man across from him remained stoic, and Ibiki shrugged one shoulder before snapping the file closed and retrieving a scroll from within his jacket, stamped with the seal of the Hokage.

"Well then, since you have failed to cooperate." Ibiki pressed the tip of his kunai into the pad of his index finger, smearing the blood in a straight line underneath the name he had written on the formal warrant of execution, "It is my duty to inform you that you have been found guilty of treason against Konoha and it's people. For these crimes, you will be executed under orders of the Godaime Hokage; Senju Tsunade. As a traitor to this village, you will be buried outside the village boundary in an unmarked grave. Your method of execution is yet to be decided, and will be discussed closer to the date. Your name will be added to a list of Konohagakure traitors, so future generations will understand the consequence of extremist action. Not that it matters," he added offhandedly, "Given that you _have_ no real name anymore, I suppose."

He sucked the blood from his thumb and smacked his lips, looking into the deadened eyes of the former ROOT member, "Your execution will be scheduled within the week, until then you'll be kept in the underground quarters. I'm sure you'll feel right at home."

"Wait."

"Mmm?"

He paused, hand on the door but not looking back. This man wasn't the first of them to break today. It seemed as though without Danzo, they were floundering. It was well documented that Konoha was historically not as aggressive towards traitors as other villages, but most of the ones who had watched him sign their death warrants seemed to be eager to turn over information. Thus far, he had only interrogated two shinobi today who had stayed firm in their loyalty to a dead man. Tsunade would do with them what she wished.

"Danzo possessed the sharingan eye of Shisui Uchiha."

Ibiki was too well trained to show the shock that rippled down his spine before it curled deep into his gut with a lingering sickness. Tsunade had made no mention of a sharingan eye in Danzo's corpse, but it didn't seem as though it was information she would broadcast. Ibiki turned back to the man, who was watching him intensely.

"He had intended to retrieve both eyes from the Uchiha, but failed after extracting only one. Shisui fled, and we were assigned to follow him, but he committed suicide before we could locate his remaining eye."

Ibiki kept himself aloof, knowing that the best thing to do when a suspect gave you good information was not to show it. The less you said, the more they felt they had to say. Ibiki pushed down on the handle and offered only a curt nod, making it three steps outside the door before he heard the yell from inside.

"Danzo assigned some of us to follow the Hokage's apprentice."

Now that was something he could work with. He slipped back into the room, sliding into the chair and opening the file, pen poised at the ready.

"Haruno Sakura? Why?"

"He didn't provide us with a reason; only orders to follow at a distance and report back on her daily routines and behaviours."

"When did this surveillance commence?

"Last year, early in the summer."

The rest of the information the shinobi gave him was useful; corroborating other intel he had received during the day as well as opening new questions across the board. Ibiki waved the execution paper in the man's face, not blinking as he gazed down at him.

"Everything you have told me today will be turned over to the Hokage, and from there she'll decide how this goes. You'll be moved to a cell until then unless we decide you could be useful."

The shinobi that escorted him out gave him surreptitious nods of approval, which Ibiki returned. He could hear the footsteps of another ROOT shinobi being brought in for interrogation, sighing heavily when he watched yet another stoic, nonplussed face settle into the chair in front of him.

"So. Do you know why you're here?"

* * *

Tsunade had left Shizune in peace to conduct her examinations. Even though she was Hokage, she could admit when people were better than her. Given a quiet room and the right materials, Shizune could break down the specifics of poisons and antidotes from all over the world. Tsunade was also smart enough to know that after the disaster that had been their last conversation, giving Shizune time to breathe would likely help her understand why Tsunade had done what she had. As expected, Shizune was hunched low over a desk when Tsunade entered, her eyes immediately travelling to the two men that were laid out on the steel tables, bathed in bright light. Sakura had pulled no punches, it seemed.

"Oh, Tsunade-sama,"

Tsunade waved Shizune back into her seat when she made to stand, walking over to one of the men and peering down at him, "What can you tell me, Shizune? Who are they and where are they from?"

"Based on an examination, these men were from different countries altogether. Shinobi A," Shizune pointed to the smaller man laid out on the table, "showed markers for the south, he was likely from the Land of Wind. I sent a messenger to the Kazekage for any possible identification if he is a missing-nin. Shinobi B, however, seems to have spent most of his life in Earth Country, judging by his blood work. I assumed, given our... tensions with the Tsuchikage that I not request a corpse identification."

"And the sedative?"

Shizune peered down at her notes, shoving her glasses up the bridge of her nose with one finger, "As I suspected, it's identical to the one used on Hatake-san. When we extracted it from his blood stream, I didn't have enough to run a full panel of tests, but now with the vials of it, I was able to break down the ingredients. Most of them are fairly northern in origin; skullcap and passion flower were used as the sedative base, neither of which are naturally occurring in Fire country. That would normally indicate the point of origin as somewhere around Shimogakure, maybe even as far north as Kumo. But I did isolate a specific ingredient that can only be found in the wetlands of the mountains in Kiri. Someone took a lot of time to create this thing, Tsunade-sama. The blend would need to be perfect, or it could risk killing the person in question, even an incorrect dosage could render them unconscious for days. Why would they need such a strong sedative?"

"I would assume it was formulated specifically with Sakura in mind. The excess chakra in her body- _our_ bodies, metabolizes substances quite quickly. Where a regular sedative may keep a shinobi out for several hours, Sakura or I could likely burn through it within one. Theoretically," Tsunade admitted, "It's not something either of us have tried. We had discussed it on several occasions, however. Particularly when she began storing chakra for her seal. Keep doing what you can with the sedative, as well as the sharingan. Move the bodies to cold storage until we have identifications. I'll get Sakura's report on them when she returns from her mission."

Shizune's jaw hardened and Tsunade sighed quietly, knowing that her friend and confidant was still unimpressed with the actions she had chosen in regards to Sakura's mission. Tsunade laid a hand on Shizune's shoulder and touched her forehead to her hair.

"I'm sorry I disappoint you, Shizune..."

Shizune said nothing, letting Tsunade cross the room and make her way up the stairs before she heard Shizune's soft voice, tinted with a thread of forgiveness.

"Only sometimes, Tsunade-sama. Oji-san would believe in your choice."

Tsunade smiled.

* * *

Jiraiya slipped his kunai between the cracks of the floorboard, wiggling experimentally before he heard the satisfying creak of it lifting away from the others. His search so far had returned nothing worth returning to Tsunade for, he hadn't come across anything even vaguely related to Sasuke, let alone his entire body. The short, clipped conversation he had with his former teammate after finding out what she was sending him on a search for hadn't been informative, though he wasn't sure Tsunade knew any more than she had let on anyway. The house had been searched since Danzo's body had been recovered, his personal effects locked somewhere in Tsunade's bottomless desk drawer; but Jiraiya knew Tsunade wouldn't send him here for a quick sweep and an early lunch break. He had pried wall panels from the structure, lifted furniture and upturned drawers.

"Come on, you slick bastard. Where were you hiding it all?"

Danzo might have been smart, but he was also cocky. Cocky enough to hide anything important in his own home; it meant he would have been able to keep a constant eye on it, and he probably never thought he would drop dead unexpectedly. The floorboard creaked ever so slightly as he lifted it free, but the sound of a scuffed foot on floors cause tension to lock in his shoulders, poising for a fight.

"Don't kill me. Tsunade would be most unimpressed. Might make her job a little easier though."

Jiraiya's shoulders uncoiled like a whip and he grunted, rolling his eyes in Kakashi's direction before he went back to the floorboard, "What are you doing here?"

"Saw a stray cat. Thought I should feed it."

"Isn't feeding stray cats your girlfriends job? Wait, that's _stealing_ cats. My mistake."

"Sakura liberated him, actually. Naruto helped. And she's not my girlfriend. What does Tsunade have you looking for in here?"

Jiraiya rubbed his forehead and sighed. Tsunade hadn't given him all the details of the night before, he was sure. But given Kakashi's vaguely unimpressed tone when he spoke Tsunade's name, it hadn't been anything good between the two of them. Despite his loyalty to Tsunade, he couldn't help but feel a connection to Kakashi. Minato's teaching ran through his veins like his own blood, and it showed.

"She wanted me to find Sasuke's body."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, the words falling out of his mouth in a drawl, "You think Danzo hid him under a floorboard?"

Minato's sass ran through his veins as well, it seemed.

"No, but I think Danzo rode the line between smart and cocky a little too much. If he was using some kind of super secret underground hideout, you'd assume he had a key for it."

Kakashi was picking absently at Danzo's belongings, circling the room with a critical eye, "Why wouldn't the ANBU who searched the house have found it?"

"The ANBU team were instructed to go through Danzo's things and bring anything noteworthy, which they did. We knew Danzo was suspect, but you can't just trash the house when you don't know what you're looking for. Now, Tsunade has a working theory, so I have at least half an idea of what I'm looking for. Tsunade's given me permission to do everything short of burning this place to the ground to find answers."

Kakashi seemed somewhat satisfied with that answer, making his way into the white-walled bathroom to conduct his own search. What he was looking for, Jiraiya wasn't sure he was going to ask. He was in the mind of cutting Kakashi some slack, for now at least. The space underneath the floorboard was empty, not even a stray dust bunny floating under the wood. Jiraiya let it settle back into place with a loud clunk before he fell back on the floor and listened to Kakashi bang around in the bathroom. Jiraiya was mentally calculating all the places he had ever hidden anything in his lifetime when Kakashi finally emerged from the bathroom- empty handed. When he didn't speak, Jiraiya craned his neck back to see what had caught his attention.

Kakashi's eyes were fixed on the ceiling, head cocked to the side, "Do you see that?"

Jiraiya looked up.

"Ah, no?"

Kakashi leapt easily onto the top of the dresser, hand smoothing along the wall of the bedroom. Jiraiya was on his feet in seconds, watching him carefully. Kakashi pointed above their heads, his fingers stroking soft along the crisp, white ceiling.

"There's two shades of paint here."

"So? They both look white to me."

Kakashi had a tanto in his hand, scraping gently along an invisible seam he seemed to find in the ceiling, "Danzo organized his clothes by fabric type and colour; his cupboards are stacked in size order, and you could bounce a ryo off his bed sheets. Why would be have a square of ceiling painted half a shade lighter than the rest of it?"

He had a point.

Kakashi was running his hands along the wall now, slipping his fingernails into any crack along the plaster and pressing hard in random sections. Jiraiya had known many paranoid shinobi in his time, their homes a maze of booby traps, hidden weapons and concealed compartments. He'd even seen Tsunade, more than once, produce items from seemingly nowhere in her home. Kakashi, seeming to find nothing along the wall or the panel of the ceiling, tilted his head to the side as he fished in his back pocket.

"You said Tsunade gave you permission to do everything but burn the house down, right?"

Jiraiya didn't get a chance to answer before he saw a flash of light as a kunai launched into the air, rippling with chakra. It landed square in the ceiling and Jiraiya fell back as Kakashi tackled him to the ground, the sound of wood splintering above them giving way to dust raining down. Kakashi was already back on top of the dresser before Jiraiya had a chance to get his bearings.

"There had to be a more efficient way to do that. Where did you even learn to do that?"

"A friend."

With a giant hole now gaping in the ceiling, Jiraiya could make out an obvious room hidden above them; a large black bag now teetering precariously on the edge of the wreckage, likely thrown from the explosion. It looked to be full to bursting, a book poking out from the very top. Kakashi dropped it down into Jiraiya's hands before hooking one arm around the ceiling rafter and launching himself up, disappearing completely. The book was filled with loose sheets of paper, muddied and stained with something that Jiraiya was almost certain was blood. It had been bound with twine and a scrap of leather as the cover, scuffed and battered as though it had seen better days. He could hear Kakashi shuffling around by the scrape of his sandals and the vaguely ominous creak of the ceiling.

"What's up there?"

Jiraiya opened the book, mindful of how delicate it seemed to be. The first few pages were hastily scribbled notes in long, slanted writing he couldn't decipher. The following pages, however, made his stomach turn. Body schematics, sketched with a careful hand and labelled in much more readable print. An image of an arm- the arm that had been attached to Danzo- with the sharingan implanted. Names of Uchiha; lists of names he didn't recognize, some scratched out. A sketch of a shinobi, organs removed and set beside him. They'd had no real doubts that Orochimaru had been involved prior to his death at Sasuke's hands, but this solidified it.

"Kakashi?"

Jiraiya set the book down and stepped under the hole in the ceiling, "Kakashi!"

A mop of silver hair appeared at the opening.

"Go get Tsunade. There's someone up here."

* * *

 **KONOHAGAKURE- LAST YEAR- THE END OF SUMMER**

* * *

Kakashi shielded his eyes from the bright spotlight as it turned down on him, illuminating the darkness of the forest at his back, sending nocturnal creatures scattering across the ground.

"Identify yourself."

 _Because there are so many shinobi with silver hair, a mask and a bleeding sharingan eye,_ Kakashi thought grumpily before he yanked down his mask and cleared his throat, "Hatake Kakashi, returning from a solo mission assigned by the Hokage."

The spotlight flicked off and plunged the forest back into darkness, a moment lingering before the gates creaked open and he slumped in relief. He could get home, finally shower, and then think of what excuse he was going to give Tsunade when she yelled at him for not immediately going to the hospital for his post mission check up.

"We sent word to the hospital," a gruff voice called down from above, sounding far too amused for Kakashi's liking, "They're expecting you. And they _will_ come and get you if required."

Kakashi tipped his head up to the sky, mourning the loss of his plans to fall face first onto his bed and sleep for a week straight. But after seeing Gai dragged out of his apartment by Shizune for failing to turn up for a post mission checkup, he knew the threats weren't empty. The hospital was much more palatable during the late hours of the night; no bustling, no bloodied genin. Even the ever so slightly dimmed lights were a relief on his eyes as he dragged himself to the reception desk, hoping for any medic nin to be on call except-

"Kakashi-sensei. Good to see you've finally come back."

He'd only seen her a few times since Sasuke had died, but he could honestly say he hadn't been actively trying to avoid her. But the sound of her voice, so genuinely pleased to see him, made guilt bubble in his gut. She urged him around with a hand on his shoulder and the softness in her face immediately hardened, the medic in her taking over as she assessed his injuries. Most of it was dirt. Hopefully. He was thankful when she let him keep his clothes on, the last vestiges of summer were already trickling out of the village, promising a cold fall and even colder winter.

"I'll need to clean this up a little to get a better look."

He closed his eye as the warmth of the cloth pressed to his skin, her touch gentle as it slid up and around the tender socket before smoothing down the side of his jaw. He felt her fingers catch on the underside of his hitai-ate before it was slipped off, letting his hair fall down across his forehead.

"Chief complaints?"

"Overused the sharingan. Started to bleed about six hours ago; that side of my face is kind of numb. Pain behind the eye- sharp. Piercing. Burning?"

Sakura nodded, writing in his chart with one hand as she continued to wipe at his cheeks, no doubt finding the scratches and scrapes under the dirt.

"Got thrown into a blackberry bush," he supplied, "Face first."

"Don't suppose you brought any of them back to the village with you, ne? You know how much I love them." Sakura joked, letting the cloth fall back into the tub of water, where it bled black and rust, "Body injuries?"

Kakashi reached down and tugged at the hem of his shirt, lifting it up to reveal his hasty attempt at patching the wound to his upper abdomen. He hadn't had enough chakra at the time to try and heal himself, however haphazard it would have ended up. Instead, he'd grit his teeth and sewn it shut with his field medical kit supplies. He could tell by the sudden stiffening of Sakura's shoulders that she wasn't overly impressed by his handiwork.

"I'm going to need to fix this first, you're starting to show signs of infection. Would you like a sedative?"

He weighed the pros and cons of it, ultimately deciding that a few minutes of pain wouldn't be worth drooling into his pillow for several hours until it worked out of his system. Sakura reached for a tiny pair of scissors and encouraged him backwards until he was flat on the examination table, staring up at the ceiling tiles and a scruffy pink bun.

"Other wounds I should be worried about?" Sakura asked as she began to snip away the stitches, dropping them into a tray beside the table. Kakashi felt the tug and burn against his puckering, red skin and he clenched his jaw and closed his eyes.

"Broke a rib or two, I think. I took a kunai to the thigh but it was just a scrape- you're going to look anyway," he said, just as Sakura spoke the same words. He saw her smile from the corner of his eye before he felt the burn of antiseptic being pressed to the wound.

"You know me too well, Kakashi-sensei. I'll heal this first, then take a look at your eye. But yes, I'm going to take a look at the kunai wound."

The cooling sensation of her chakra was welcomed against the hot skin of his rib cage, the dull thudding in the wound finally ebbing away after days of aching. He knew she would take a lot of care with this specific injury, given how high on his chest it had come. Any closer to the inside and they might have gotten lucky and punctured his lungs. He didn't know when he dozed off, but it shocked him to awaken to Sakura's gentle hands and smiling face. He'd never fallen asleep during a medical check up before; the foreign invasion of chakra, and the uneasy feeling of the hospital always prickling away at his defences. Instead, he blinked sleepily as Sakura's soft voice became sharper, finally clear enough for him to hear.

"Mmngh?"

Sakura laughed and brought her hand to his eye, pushing her thumb into the very corner and threading her chakra into the screaming nerves, "I asked how you were feeling. Your abdomen injury is closed, and I cleared out the infection. You'll have some tenderness in the area for a few days, and I would avoid reaching up with that arm for at least a week. I need you awake for your eye though, I'm concerned about the blood. How's your vision?"

"Blurry," he admitted, shaking his head to try and banish the last of the tiredness and immediately regretting his decision. Sakura caught his temples and tutted, muttering something under her breath he didn't quite catch, but the tone told him volumes regardless. Her touch was gentle, the barest pressure of her fingertips as she circled the eye and infused her chakra. As the pads of her fingers brushed against the scar, he felt the tension snap and diffuse, taking the hunch line of his shoulders with it.

"There's more damage than usual," Sakura admitted, not taking her hands from his temple, "How long were you using the sharingan for?"

"Ah... longer than you would appreciate."

Tsunade had been upfront when assigning him to the mission that her intel was patchy at best. Kakashi wasn't looking forward to informing her that 'patchy' was an understatement, and 'wide gaping holes in the information' was a more fitting descriptor. The shinobi count was double what he had anticipated, and they weren't nearly as unprepared as the informant had suggested they would be. Sakura was worrying her lip, which didn't bode well for his diagnosis.

"There's some intense damage to the eye, but it doesn't look permanent. I'll need to wrap it up for a few days, at least until the bleeding stops. I want to consult with Tsunade-sama before I do anything, she might have a different opinion. I'll give you a pain blocker for now and heal the usual damage, but come back in a few days. Take off your pants."

The subject change made him turn his head so fast he heard the crackle of bones. Sakura had turned her back on him, scribbling into his chart. When she didn't hear him moving, she peeked over her shoulder, eyebrows raised.

"Your thigh wound? I'll need access to it and you're covered in dirt. You can take them off or I can cut them off. Your choice."

Sakura had seen him in various stages of undress before- it was an inevitably in mixed gender teams, and a guarantee when one of your teammates was a medic. Not to mention his rivalry with Gai often ended with nudity as one of the stakes. He tugged his pants down before kicking them off, considering folding them neatly beside him before dumping them unceremoniously on the floor instead. They were covered in mud, grass stains, blood, and a patchwork of threads where he had sewn them back together time and again; there was no need to act like he wouldn't be throwing them away when he got home. Sakura turned back around when he cleared his throat, antiseptic pad in hand. He really wished he wasn't wearing his underwear with dancing pugs on it, noticing the way he lips curled at the edges but she remained professional.

"It does look like just a graze but have you had any pain while walking? Numbness or tingling in the area? There's no sign of infection or poison, just at first glance."

When he shook his head, she rubbed the area over and poked the skin around the cut before healing it easily.

"In that case I'd say you're fine. You're a little dehydrated, and I'd recommend eating something other than shinobi rations; but otherwise you're free to go once I wrap your eye."

The gauze she pressed against his eye- once he was wearing pants again- smelled of antiseptic, and she winced apologetically when he scrunched his nose in distaste. She cirled a bandage around his head, similar to how he wore his hitai-ate, before giving him instructions on returning in a few days. The _or else_ went unsaid. He hesitated by the door, his hand buried in his mission pack. It was stupid. He shouldn't give them to her. She'd probably think they were stupid. What was he even thinking?

 _You were thinking you felt guilty for killing her teammate._

"Sakura?"

She looked over her shoulder at him, her eyes falling to the slightly squished and stained brown paper bag he was offering out. She frowned for a moment, before realization hit. She took the bag from him and leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to his cheek.

"We were worried about you, Kakashi-sensei," she said quietly, no tears in her eyes but a hitch in her voice that Kakashi felt squeeze at his heart, "Naruto was going to kick down Tsunade-sama's door to send a rescue party if you weren't back by the end of the week. I'm _really_ glad you made it back."

Sasuke's name wasn't spoken, but it didn't need to be. Kakashi gave her a strained smile before he left, though he couldn't help letting it stretch across his face in genuine happiness when he heard the crinkle of the bag and Sakura's squeal of glee as she began eating the blackberries.


	24. Chapter 24

The man shackled to the wall was still conscious, which made it even worse. He reeked of urine and sweat, his face sallow and skin stretched too tight over his bones. Kakashi could see, even from this distance, that the heavy iron cuffs around his wrists and ankles were chafed hard against his skin, breaking the flesh open to bleed and scab. Kakashi reached out, offering what little pain relief his meagre medical ability could offer. The man jerked in place, as though he had forgotten Kakashi was there.

"Are you... here to kill me?" he wheezed, eyes unfocused and head lolling.

"No."

The man's shoulders slumped further, as though he was trying to curl further into himself and disappear into the floor. "Oh. Please... kill me..."

He convulsed, chains rattling as he wheezed and twitched in place before shuddering and falling quiet again.

Kakashi crouched closer, kunai at the ready in case this was all part of some elaborate trap. Considering Danzo was dead, the chances were slim to none. But a shinobi that lacked cautiousness often ended up a dead shinobi. His slim kit of lock picks was nestled in his back pocket, but the shackles didn't look as though they would be so easy to crack. Instead, he pressed the small cup of water he had fetched when Jiraiya left to the man's cracked lips, pulling it away when he tried to drink too deeply.

"What's your name?"

"...he'll kill me."

"Danzo is dead. The Hokage is on her way, you're going to be fine. You need to tell me your name."

The man mumbled something Kakashi couldn't catch; but the sound of rapid footsteps below him pulled his attention from the prisoner and towards the opening of the hidden room where a head of blonde hair was peering over at him.

"Report."

"Male. Based on callouses on his hands, feet and limbs, I would assume he's shinobi. Origin unknown- definitely not from here. No name or identification on his body. He's confused. In and out of consciousness since I found him."

Tsunade crouched beside the man, cupping her jaw to make him face her, "Report."

"Mission failure." the man grunted, likely out of habit in reporting to an authority figure. Kakashi could see Tsunade scanning the visible damage, but no healing glow appearing at the tips of her fingers. Instead, she reached into her haori and retrieved a long, thin needle that she pressed into the man's thigh. Almost immediately, his eyes rolled back into his head and he let out a heavy breath, going slack.

"Jiraiya, get up here. Take him straight to the ANBU emergency room near the interrogation centre. Take the back path, through the trees. He's been sedated, but handle him carefully."

Jiraiya's hair appeared before he did. "There's no key-"

Tsunade curled her hand around the anchor point of the shackles and yanked, tearing them from the wall with an ear splitting screech. Jiraiya shrugged one shoulder before scooping the man up into his arms with ease, the skeletal frame dwarfed by Jiraiya's broad shoulders.

"And me?" Kakashi asked, cocking an eyebrow at Tsunade as she rose to her feet, recapping the needle and letting it disappear. She looked him up and down, the tight coil of her shoulders giving way slightly and an apologetic look on her face. It wasn't an apology Kakashi was willing to accept just yet, but he appreciated her attempt at caring.

"I'll need your report about this written up and given to Shizune. Don't forget you have a check up in three days. I'll see you then,"

Kakashi had seen the dismissal coming, but it still stung. She was really going to keep him on the outskirts of this from now on. He tried making eye contact with Jiraiya, who was looking everywhere but in Kakashi's direction. He watched the two of three Sannin dart away with the man and sighed, flinging a kunai into a tree with an excessive amount of force.

If she wasn't going to officially let him help, he'd just have to make sure she didn't find out that he was going to do it anyway.

* * *

"Identify yourself!"

Sakura hooked her fingers under the wrap covering her hair and pulled it free, shaking out the curls that were forming in the heavy, damp air. The slivers of light from the setting sun didn't lend much visibility, apparently, as a bright spotlight turned down on her

"Haruno Sakura of Konohagakure, here under orders of the Godaime Hokage."

The scrape of metal on metal sounded from behind the heavy gates and they creaked open, a tall man in chunin attire holding the door for her.

"Welcome to the evergreen forest, Haruno-san. The Godaime told us you would be arriving. We assumed it was you," he gestured to her hair, "But given the current circumstances, we needed to be sure."

"It's no trouble, really. The Tsunade-sama would appreciate the concern. I'll get what I came for and be out of here as soon as possible."

The guard bowed to her before she heard his sandals scraping against the steep wooden stairs of the gate tower. Beyond the towering metal walls, row upon row of plants stretched out ahead of her. Since the arson attack on the second crop, they had doubled the capacity of the evergreen forest. Tsunade had sent genin teams to build greenhouses and garden beds, and Yamato had personally supervised the clearing of several trees to provide more room, taking care to plant as many as they removed. As a security measure, nothing in the crop was labelled. It had been a difficult decision, but ultimately it meant that anyone who managed to enter the building with less than appropriate intentions would unlikely be able to identify what they were looking for. Sakura had spent the better part of her summers in her youth learning the key identifying features of medical plants, Tsunade booming "You killed someone!" every time she had gotten something wrong.

It had been a tense time for everyone involved.

Armed with her notebook, Sakura waded into the fray of greenery, sucking in a deep breath as the fresh scent of nature wrapped around her. She was too deep in the forest to see the horizon, even if the walls didn't loom high into the air; but the sky above her was smeared navy blue and dotted with winking stars. The night blooming wisteria plant in the corner was already wafting it's sweet scent in her direction, and she made a note to harvest some for the poisons department before she returned. Finally finding one of the plants Tsunade had requested, Sakura dropped to her knees in the earth- cool from the night air- and rummaged in her pack for her harvesting kit. Harvesting medicinal crops was not unlike tending to some of her more particular flowers, Sakura noted as she delicately snipped at the base of a leaf before dropping it into the labelled bag. Tsunade, for all her medical prowess, was quick to admit that she hated the process.

"Some things are easy," her mentor had said, motioning to a single bud atop a thick, pale green stem, "You pluck the bud and your job is done. Others take time. As you start making poisons, and antidotes to those poisons, things become more meticulous. One wrong move and your harvest is useless."

The leaves of this particular plant were usually used in the creation of soldier pills, providing a boost of energy when consumed in the right conditions. It took her just shy of a half hour to fill the bag, picking on the large, thick leaves that were deep green with yellowed dots at the base. She wandered the garden beds, flicking through the notebook in her hands to try and find the next plant on Tsunade's mission list.

This one, much to her chagrin, was one of the more fiddly of the plants. It was sandwiched between two plants similar in size and shape; though she knew from her studies that one was an ingredient in a tea, and the other was a powerful laxative. Not the kind of thing you wanted to accidentally mix steam was thick and rubbery, but when peeled back carefully with a kunai, the thin tendrils beneath it were vital for multiple parts of medicine. She rocked back on her heels to get a better look at it, but overshot and fell into the dirt with a surprised grunt. Behind a tall vine, she heard a familiar chuckle.

"I put a lot of work into these, Sakura-san. Try not to do too much damage to my babies."

"Oh my goodness, Takeo-san!"

She wrapped her arms around his waist, dwarfed in his frame as he returned the embrace. She pulled back to look at him, taking in every detail of his appearance.

"How long has it been?" he asked, "Seven months? Eight? Time seems to slip away from me up here."

Sakura smiled and slipped the filled bags into her mission pack, "I'd say closer to nine, I think. Tsunade-sama posted you to the position mid summer last year. How have you been?"

Takeo gestured widely to the plants, "They keep me busy. I used your tip about planting species likely to attract the same types of insect activity close together to limit how much quality control and insect harvesting we have to do. And your thoughts on the schematics of the greenhouse were appreciated, we've been cultivating a lot in there with the help of the Kazekage's seedlings from the trade deal. When I heard the Hokage was sending you here though... I admit I was worried."

He ducked his head, a pink blush tinting his cheeks as he looked up at her through his lashes. Sakura abruptly felt as though she had been doused in ice water. Prior to his mission post in the evergreen forest, he and Sakura had...

A flirtation?

To call it something so simple seemed to undercut it, though they had never even been on a date. But Sakura remembered that smile; the long lashes; the slightly crooked canine tooth she could glimpse. And how, since Sasuke had died, she had finally felt something that wasn't burdening grief or fear. Looking at him now, there was no denying that his time outside the village had served him well. Where there had previously been a softness to his body was now sharp angles of muscle; his hair had grown out to now be captured in a tail at the back of his head. And yet...

"Worried?" she asked, crouching back down to the plant to busy her hands.

"Well we've been kept up to date about what's been happening in Konoha in the last few months. After Hatake-san was injured, the Hokage requested a full delivery of plant harvest. For the village to send someone again so soon..."

Sakura nodded in understanding, extracting another tiny sliver of plant stem. If Tsunade had been supplied with medical plants so recently, to require more so soon suggested that hospital was inundated with traumas. She laid the sample on the collection bag and shook her head.

"There's been no serious issues since the attack on the gates," _minus Danzo being dead but that's an entirely different story_ "Tsunade-sama just requested a few specific samples for her work, and she wanted to make sure they were properly identified. I also assume she didn't want to take any of you away from your posts, particularly now. Have there been any attempts on the structure?"

He sat in the dirt beside her, resting back on his arms. She remembered, vividly, the two of them doing this in the hospital records room. Close together, their thighs pressed tight and their shoulders brushing. He had pushed her hair away from her face, tucking it carefully behind her ear before reaching for a file on her opposite side, bringing their faces just a mere inch apart.

"A few shinobi travelling through Fire to get other places, but no outright attempts since the day before the arson attack on the other medical crop. Three shinobi of unknown origin were sighted by our scout about three miles to the west. When asked to identify themselves, they scattered. We had search teams combing the area when one of them made an attempt on the structure. Killed two shinobi guards but failed to make it over the gate before he was wounded. He was assumed dead based on how much blood we found pooled under a tree to the south, though nobody recovered his body. The next day..." Takeo ducked his head, "The second medical crop was fire bombed. Twelve shinobi dead in moments, Sakura... I knew those shinobi. They were good men and women."

Sakura's hands stilled on the stem of the plant, her voice quiet, "I know."

She had been there to help identify the bodies, matching medical and dental records to account for all of the victims and recover any of the plants that may have survived. Unfortunately, they hadn't been dealing with an amateur. The crop had been razed to the ground, cutting Konoha's access to medical supplies in half and throttling their biggest trade product. Sakura reached out and covered Takeo's hand with her own, trying to offer as much comfort as she could. He squeezed back, but let go, rising to his feet and dusting off the seat of his pants.

"I have to finish the rounds of the perimeter and check on the water rotation, but you're welcome to join my team and I for dinner in a few hours. And don't say no-" he said, cutting her off before she could even speak, "I seem to recall you lecturing me more than once about the important of balanced meals while on shift. I'll see you in the cafeteria," he pointed to a square, brown building nestled in the corner of the structure before disappearing into the greenery.

Sakura looked back at the plant she was harvesting from, scraping her nails absently against the sharp edge of her kunai. Months- what felt like _years_ ago, she had felt her heart sing every time her skin had brushed against his. She had even flirted with the possibility of asking him to dinner before he had been selected by Tsunade for the rotation to the forest. They'd had so many lunches that bled into late evening chatter; silent giggles at exasperated genin sensei; and shared tense moments when they had lost patients. In the back of her mind, she had found herself wondering if maybe she could go out on a limb again; let herself get lost in another person. She'd even tentatively raised the idea with Ino, the shower stall in the hospital between them as they scrubbed away the blood from an intense surgery. Ino had laughed, the sound echoing off the tiles over the spray of water.

"Sure thing, Forehead. Get it!"

That all seemed so long ago now. Looking back, his touched lacked the heat she remembered. The butterflies now dust in her stomach. Takeo was handsome, intelligent, and he understood her work better than any man she had ever been with. And yet something wasn't there anymore. Not now that she knew the feeling of Kakashi's chest under her hands, or his jacket on her shoulders. The feeling of his cheek under her lips.

He wasn't Kakashi.

Sakura slid the fine tip of the kunai into the stem of the plant, carefully removing another sliver of greenery.

It was amazing how fast things could change when your heart was involved.

* * *

"He's from Iwa."

Jiraiya frowned at the comatose man, looking between him and Tsunade. All she had done so far was induce a coma to prevent him from feeling any more pain when the sedative wore off, how she had come to the conclusion so resolutely was beyond him. Thankfully, she seemed to sense his train of thought and pushed back her hair, pressing a cold, antiseptic compress to his wrist wounds while Jiraiya did the same at his ankles.

"I recognize him from the images the Tsuchikage sent when some of his shinobi went missing. He- he's been missing for approximately a year. Give or take a few weeks."

"You think Danzo kidnapped an Iwa shinobi? That would prove he was trying to plant a bad reputation for Konoha with Iwa."

Tsunade didn't look convinced, now inspecting the unhealed wounds on the man's fingers.

"Not exactly. This is the man the scout team was looking for when they disappeared. I granted them passage through the Fire border to search for a missing nin about to go on trial for grave robbing and experimentation. I'm going to take an intuitive leap and say that this man helped Danzo dig up Sasuke's remains."

A lead. A solid lead in the case.

"Can't we wake him up?"

Tsunade pursed her lips and fed a small amount of chakra into the worst of the infected skin around his wrist, Jiraiya turning away as pus burst from the surface and began to ooze into the drop sheet below the body.

"Not right away. If we assume Danzo has been associated with this man since he went missing, he's likely been chained up there for a long time. He's malnourished, dehydrated. Delusional. I can't guarantee that anything he tells us is accurate, or even real. I'll keep him in the coma for a few days- maybe a week. I have his chakra paths blocked and once I'm done here he'll be moved underground to the interrogation rooms. I'm not risking another situation like the last villager."

Jiraiya was tempted to argue. This man likely had all the evidence they needed to get to the bottom of this, or at least break down some of the more stubborn obstacles in their way. But he knew she was right; the chances of the man knowing anything worthwhile when he was in a state like this were slim to none.

"Technically," he started, seeing how Tsunade levelled him with a death stare but continuing on, "Should we alert the Tsuchikage that we have one of their felons in custody?"

"Well, I can't be _sure_ it's him. He looks the same, but facial features can be deceiving. Best to hold out until we're sure. Besides, for all we know, he was trying to infiltrate Konoha when he arrived here. Which means we _do_ have a right to question him."

Tsunade always had loved a good loophole that played out in her favor. Jiraiya finished cleaning the wounds to the man's ankle, slipping a finger under his heel and inspecting the soles of his feet. They were calloused, as expected for a shinobi of his age. But otherwise they were bare, which Jiraiya had to admit he hadn't expected. His own feet were marred with scarring- kunai slammed into the soft flesh when he refused to talk; his bones broken by bamboo sticks beaten endlessly against the soft flesh when he spat in his captive's faces. He had, albeit privately, been expecting a sea of damage on the man.

"Any evidence of physical torture besides the whole 'chained up in an attic' thing?"

Tsunade shook her head, "No signs of standard torture procedures. I inspected his back and chest when we arrived, no fresh wounds or scarring. Danzo didn't have the medical ability to cover it up if he did, so I'd say whatever he wanted this man for, he provided it before Danzo had to resort to torturing him for it. Up until Danzo died, I'd also assume he was kept fed and hydrated. Not enough for him to be at full strength, but definitely enough to keep him alive. Danzo needed him for something."

Jiraiya fell silent, falling back into the shadows to watch Tsunade work in silence. When the infected wounds of the man's wrists and ankles had become nothing but raw, inflamed skin, Tsunade stepped back and wiped her brow against her upper arm.

"I'll hook him up to a food and water drip, and his injuries will need daily examination. I've arranged for some ANBU members to meet you at the interrogation room, you'll need to submit a chakra sample to get inside. Shizune set up a bed while we were here, make sure to restrain him before you leave. Then meet me back here."

"For?"

Tsunade peeled off her protective medical gown and stuffed it into one of the biohazard bins, "An entire squad went missing when they entered Fire country looking for this man. I'd like to make sure we aren't going to find _them_ chained up in an attic somewhere."

* * *

"Sakura-san?"

Harvesting the supplies had taken hours, though she had budgeted her time accordingly, even factoring in a lively dinner with the shinobi guard. Many of them had been stationed here for going on a year without returning to the village, eager to bombard Sakura with questions about the goings on and latest gossip. The early hours of the morning were still brisk in this part of the Fire country, still clinging to Spring with all their might. Her mission pack was loaded with the supplies, as well as some Sakura had allowed herself to harvest while she was here, knowing the Konoha stores were dwindling. Tsunade would understand, and the guards had made no attempts to stop her. They had told her there was a room for her in the living quarters should she want to stay the night, but the urge to return to Konoha was already itching under her skin. She turned at the sound of her name, water bottle still at her lips as she chased three soldier pills with fresh, cold water. Takeo was lingering behind her, hands stuffed into his pockets and a shy, warm smile on his face.

"Yes, Takeo-san? Please don't tell me you think it's too dangerous for me to leave, I've already bested five of your men in arm wrestling matches. I'm sure I'll be fine."

Takeo tipped his head back as he laughed, "Maa, I did hear about that. Quite some sore losers we have around here, they're insisting you charmed your way into a win. Good thing I know better than to challenge Haruno Sakura to _anything_ physical if I want to win."

Sakura didn't have the heart to tell him that the one time she had absolutely demolished him in an arm wrestling competition that she had been holding back. Instead, she smiled and tucked the canteen back into her mission pack, slinging it onto her back and looking up to find Takeo a few steps closer, scratching at the back of his neck and tilting his head down, letting the long bangs fall into his face. Sakura felt her stomach twist and she knew, before he had even opened his mouth, what was coming.

"I received word from the Hokage that my rotation in the forest will end in two months. I'm being reassigned back to my position at the hospital, I was wondering if, ah- well, there's really no pressure, Sakura-san... perhaps we could... have that dinner we used to talk about?"

The memory of their flirtation had been lingering at the back of her mind the entire time she had been here- every time she caught sight of him rounding a corner or heard the familiar sound of his laugh in the distance. It seemed like so long ago now that she had allowed herself to brush against his arm with her fingertips, add a little more curve to her bend when she stopped to collect files; or found herself absently dabbing gloss on her lips when she knew he would be around. She'd felt a disappointed surge in her gut when Tsunade had assigned him the rotation to the forest, but they had never gone further than simple coworker dalliance. The thought had, admittedly, crossed her mind that they could pick up when he returned, maybe turn a platonic lunch meeting into something more, but now...

She thought of Kakashi again. How seeing him made her heart squeeze and the air empty from her lungs. How right now, with Takeo in front of her, she felt... nothing.

"I'm sorry, Takeo-san. There's- ah-"

"Someone else?" he finished for her, a sad smile on his face, "I assumed so. You're..." he gestured lamely at her, the smile brightening slightly, "glowing. I'm glad you've found someone who complements you."

 _Complements,_ Sakura noted as she leaned in to hug him, pouring as much silent happiness as she could into the embrace. It had taken her a long time, but now that she was older, she had realized how flawed her younger self had been. She had wanted someone to complete her, to love her and give her purpose. Now, with all of her experience behind her, Sakura knew how important it was to be complete on her own. She and Kakashi might not be anything yet- and there was the chance they might not be. But regardless, she would be okay.

"I'll see you when you return to the hospital, Takeo-san."

"It'll be an honor working with you again, Sakura. I loom forward to it. Be safe out there."

When he had bid her final goodbye, Sakura leapt into the trees, dodging between the thick branches and heavy greenery. This mission had been eye opening for her. She'd had the concern lingering in the back of her mind for a while now, that in her loneliness she had gravitated towards someone she knew cared about her, imprinted like a damn _baby duck_ on the first man to send a glance her way. But now she was sure it wasn't just a lonely heart looking for company. Kakashi made her feel... something. A giddiness she hadn't felt in a long time.

She infused chakra into her feet as she launched herself off the next branch, clearing through several trees in one bound. If she kept her pace up, she could make it back to Konoha within a day and a half.

Maybe she could convince Kakashi to buy her breakfast.

* * *

 **A CLEARING ON THE BORDER OF THE LAND OF RIVERS- TWO YEARS AGO- TEAM KAKASHI'S MISSION**

* * *

The mission directive had been simple. Find the enemy shinobi that had been kidnapping children in Fire country; rescue the children and recover any bodies for identification; and then return the body of the shinobi- dead or alive. Team Kakashi had already rescued close to a dozen children from his hideout, nestled in a cave where Fire bled into River. He had managed to escape while they were filtering the stolen children out and into safety, taking one of them with him. Team Kakashi had chased him for miles, hot on his tail until he had reached a clearing.

It had all happened so fast. The enemy nin had thrown an explosive tag towards the small child, barely old enough to even comprehend what was happening other than knowing they needed to hide. Sakura had launched herself forwards to shelter him from the blow, but Kakashi beat her to it, blood spraying into the air and splattering the ground as the tag detonated- directly against his chest. Naruto's enraged yell followed the echoing boom of the blast, mingling with the sharp crack of his rasengan. Sakura saw the child through the clearing smoke, reaching out in time to bring him to her chest, eyes and ears covered as more blood burst into the air, and the enemy nin took his last gurgling breath as Naruto's rasengan ripped through his organs without mercy. Sakura could feel the boy quaking in terror against her chest and cupped his cheeks, wiping the dripping tears with her thumbs.

"You will be safe now."

Sai was already scooping the child into his arms, breathing heavily from using his Ink Body Flicker to move the victims as fast as possible. Sakura could hear Kakashi's laboured breathing behind her, ragged with a wet gasp.

"Sai, take him back to where we left the others. Between you and Naruto you should both be able to protect them until we can mobilize. If Kakashi and I aren't back at the rendezvous point in ten hours- leave. Sai-" he looked down at her, his face impassive but his eyes shining with concern as she saw him look over her shoulder at Kakashi, "You _drag_ Naruto if you have to. Do you hear me? Getting these kids back to Konoha is our priority."

Sai nodded, disappearing in a flicker of black ink. She could see Naruto's hesitation through the blood mask coating his face, his eyes darting between Sakura and Kakashi.

"Dammit, Naruto. GO!"

Someone must have been listening to her silent prayers, considering he didn't put up a fight before disappearing after Sai. She knew he was rocked to the core by what they had seen in the cave hideout. Sakura pushed the thoughts from her head and turned to Kakashi, sucking in a deep breath as she saw the extent of his injuries laid out before her.

"You're not doing to die, Kakashi-sensei," she reassured him, pushing her hands hard against the sucking wound in his chest. His eyes were glazed and unfocused, but still found her. He began to spasm and Sakura's heart leapt into her throat, panic dying into confusion when she realized-

"Are you _laughing?_ "

Blood sprayed out of his mouth and he let his head loll onto the grass.

"Know I wont die..." he managed to gurgle, "You've...got...me..."

She couldn't bring herself to be angry at him for laughing in such a serious moment, only brought her hand to the curve of his cheek and nodded, blinking away the tears brimming along her eyes.

"I do, Kakashi-sensei. I've got you. You're going to have to buy me such a great dinner when we get back to Konoha as payment for this. And no ducking out on the bill. I'm ordering an appetizer _and_ a dessert. And drinks. So many drinks, Kakashi-sensei, you might even have to carry me home. And it can't be a ramen stand, okay? I bought this beautiful yukata and I still haven't worn it, this will be the perfect reason."

Kakashi grunted, more blood spraying down his chin, "I know a place... I'll take you there."

Sakura watched his eyes roll back into his head and she wiped the dripping tear off her cheek with her shoulder, hands still deep inside her sensei's chest cavity. She could feel his heart pulsing weakly against her fingers and she smiled weakly.

"It's a date then, okay Kakashi-sensei? Don't stand me up."

* * *

"Have you ever made someone explode?"

Kakashi blinked, looking out into the sea of wide eyes gazing up at him with awe. The student in question, a tiny girl with off centred pigtails and a smattering of freckles on her cheeks; leaned forward in anticipation. Kakashi pursed his lips- technically- he had. A misplaced explosive tag into the mouth of an enemy shinobi had still done the job, however aggressively.

"Well-" he caught sight of Iruka, waving his hand across his throat in a clear 'no don't tell them that story' gesture. Kakashi faltered, "no. No I haven't."

Up until this point, he had only given a brief overview of what life as a shinobi was life. A heavily censored, appropriate for children under the age of ten, overview. Back in his time at the academy, there hadn't been any smoke screening about what life as a shinobi would be like. But he also knew that more than half of these students wouldn't make the cut for genin, and even less of them would continue on to be chunin. No reason to traumatize the masses of the new generation for Konoha. Not yet.

Another hand shot into the air and he pointed to them, eyes darting between the clock and the barest peek of _Icha Icha_ poking out of Iruka's pocket. The boy grinned, showing off his missing front teeth.

"Do you know Naruto-kun?"

At the mention of Naruto, the atmosphere on the room shifted from quiet awe to a buzz of excitement, all of the children beginning to conduct their own conversations, laced with glee. Iruka cleared his throat and the buzz died down, leaving with it a wash of rippling happiness.

"I do. I was his sensei and his team leader when he was younger."

"Naruto-kun is the _coolest._ He lets us chase his clones around at lunch time and one time he let us eat ramen and another time he climbed a tree with _just his feet_. When I grow up, I want to be a cool shinobi like Naruto-kun."

A murmured chorus of agreement rippled through the students and Kakashi was saved from his tunnel vision of terror at an army of Naruto's by Iruka calling a recess. The children chimed him a "Thank you Hatake-san" before filing out of the room, allowing Kakashi to wilt back against the wall. Iruka slipped _Icha Icha_ into his hand and patted his back.

"Naruto comes by a few times a week to spend time with the students. They think he's a God. If he wasn't so set on becoming Hokage, he'd make a good Academy teacher."

Kakashi had a flash of one hundred students Sexy no Jutsu'ing their way out of a battle and shook his head to clear it before it burned itself in his brain. He clutched _Icha Icha_ in his fist, stroking the cover and checking for any damage. When he was satisfied, he clapped a hand firmly on Iruka's shoulder.

"If you take my books again, Iruka. There will be nowhere in this village for you to hide."

He was silently proud of the sweat that beaded and dripped from Iruka's forehead as he swaggered out of the Academy and out into the early afternoon air. With things being so hectic since Sakura had left, it had been easy to keep occupied. Now, however, it seemed as though the days were dragging on. He kept himself busy the rest of the day on the training field, accompanied by an excited Naruto who chattered on about the goings on in the village. Hinata was mending bridges with clans; Shikamaru's genin team was wreaking havoc; Ino was considering a temporary medic position in Suna. Kiba had a civilian girlfriend who, hilariously, owned several cats. Kakashi put his foot down when Naruto began to wax poetic about Hinata with such devotion that even Gai would be proud; there were limits as to how much he wanted to know about people's love lives. He indulged Naruto and allowed himself to be dragged to Ichiraku, stealthily stuffing the noodles into his mouth behind his mask when Naruto was distracted. Even though his face was no longer a secret, it was still something he enjoyed taunting his former student with.

"Don't you miss the old days sometimes, Kakashi?" Naruto asked, mouth full of noodles from his third bowl.

Kakashi dabbed the last of the broth from the corner of his lips, "Ahh, Naruto. You don't always need to leave the past in the past, if it really bothers you."

He pointed into the corner, squinting hard, "What's that over there?"

When Naruto turned his head, Kakashi made his escape, smiling to himself as he heard Naruto's outraged cry.

"Ne! I DIDN'T MEAN IT LIKE THAT! GET BACK HERE AND PAY!"

He hadn't heard from Tsunade or Jiraiya in two days.

Not that he expected it, especially when he remembered what had happened prior to finding the prisoner in Danzo's attic between him and the Hokage. He was going to have to get used to being out of the loop. At least for now. He'd seen a lot of prisoners in his time as a shinobi, and been one a handful of times as well. If the man managed to pull through, there was no guarantee he would know anything of use anyway. For now, he had found a way to keep himself busy that he was sure Sakura would appreciate.

"You're far too attractive to have such a sad face, Hatake."

Kakashi held one of the squirming pups up to his face, feeling it lick curiously at the bridge of his nose, "Maa, Hana. My mask is up, there's no way for you to tell I'm sad."

Hana raised an eyebrow and scoffed, "I've known you almost my entire life. I know your moping face. Besides, you've been here since dawn. Not even I can spend that much time around the dogs."

The puppy in his hands was now gnawing on his finger, whining softly until he gently settled it up against it's mother's belly. Bisuke was curled up with Kita, their foreheads pressed together and their paws laid atop one another. Hana crouched beside the puppies, lifting them up one by one and inspecting them carefully.

"Are they taking to anyone in particular?" he asked, watching Hana's eyebrow raise in a 'just ask if I know which one Sakura will take' fashion.

"A few of them have already shown to favorite some of the kids. But we can't know for sure until the ninken stat to develop if they'll have any specific traits we should be trying to match. This one," she hoisted an all black puppy, the spitting image of her mother, to her face, "Is a feisty one. She takes no crap from her brothers and she's already started showing inclinations of chakra use. And she bites."

"She doesn't even have teeth yet."

Hana faced the puppy, gumming uselessly at Hana's fingers, towards Kakashi, "When she _does_ have teeth, she's going to be a handful. But with your help, I'm sure Sakura will be able to wrangle her."

She set the pup down, where she was abruptly pushed by one of the others, only to shove back with her head and worm her way against Kita's belly. Kakashi saw Pakkun give him a knowing glance and he smiled, already planning the training she would have to undergo to work with Sakura. He lounged amid the pups for a long time, until the mid afternoon sunlight was stubbornly shining into his eyes. He bid Kita, Hana and Bisuke goodbye, touching a kiss to Kita's head before he left, which she returned with a lazy lick to his cheek. Konoha was blissfully quiet this time of the afternoon, people laying out and drinking in the sun that promised a scorching summer. Pakkun trotted along beside him while Bull lingered behind, eyes greedily taking in the various food stalls around them.

"So, Boss, I was thinkin with the pup we start them with tracking. Best skill they've got in my opinion. Hana's a great tracker, hopefully they inherited it from her and not Bisuke. Then we can-"

Pakkun stopped mid sentence, sniffing the air and pausing in his tracks. He nudged Bull with his head and coughed, "Oh, Boss. We jus' remembered that we've gotta be somewhere."

"We did?"

Pakkun nodded, already turning around and heading off into an alley, "Yeah, Bull. We do. See you at home, Boss!"

Kakashi narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the retreating backs of his ninken. What could they possibly be-

"Kakashi!"

He whirled around, hand flying up to flatten his hair from the unruly ruffle he had left it in as Sakura landed in front of him, breathing heavily. Sweat glistened on her forehead, twigs and leaves caught in her hair, now falling loosely from a half hearted knot at the top of her head. He could see a bulging mission pack dangling loosely from one hand, and her earth toned attire was rumpled and shadowed with dirt.

"Oh, you're back."

Very casual. Smooth. As though he hadn't already been planning to knock the door to Tsunade's office down if she hadn't returned by tomorrow morning.

Sakura wiped self consciously at her cheeks and laughed, "Oh, yeah. I just got back, I probably look- ugh-"

"You look fine," he assured her, "Casual has it's own charm,"

She was blushing under the dust, he could see it creeping into the neck of her shirt. He was thinking of a rational excuse to invite her over when she stepped forward, hands folded shyly across her chest.

"So this wasn't exactly how I pictured it, I was hoping there'd be less sweat and dirt and I wouldn't smell like I'd been rolling in the grass for days but I saw you on my way to the Tower and I just- well, look, Kakashi, there's no pressure or anything. I was going to be all cute and coy and I even knew what outfit I was going to wear when I asked but whatever. I want.. I want to have dinner with you. If you'd like."

She was asking him on a date?

This was certainly not his first time being asked out by a woman, and he had already planned on asking Sakura for dinner when she returned, but her question had thrown him for a loop. It became apparent he had waited a beat too long to answer when Sakura's shy, hopeful smile shifted, morphing into an embarrassed and clearly disappointed hung head.

"Oh... I'm so sorry, Kakashi. I thought-"

"Yes."

Sakura waved a hand, "No, Kakashi, really. I shouldn't have sprung it on you like that."

Kakashi caught her hand, tugging her closer to him before he could second guess it. She thought she was being rejected, and he wouldn't let he feel like his acceptance was pity.

"Sakura, you just caught me off guard because I was planning to ask _you_ to dinner when you returned."

She chewed on her lower lip, the corner of them curling into a smile, "You were?"

He'd run the scenario many times in his head, all the ways he could ask her and all her possible responses. But he wouldn't tell her that just yet. Instead, he stepped back from her and smiled.

"How does tomorrow night sound? I'll pick you up at your place around 7."

"So around 9?" she joked, absently tugging on the ends of her hair. Kakashi winked, unable to help himself when she looked so cute blushing the same colour as her hair.

"For you, I'll be on time. I promise."

He turned his back, trying to keep casual when his emotions were rocketing around in his chest like he was a hopelessly romantic teen. The ninken were piled up around the corner, clearly having eavesdropped on the entire conversation. Kakashi made a vaguely threatening gesture when Pakkun opened his mouth, but nothing could wipe the ridiculous smile off his face. He glanced back over his shoulder just in time to see Sakura's celebratory fist pump, accompanied by a quiet squeal she clearly thought he was too far to overhear. The underlying threat of what was going on in the village- Sasuke's body, the prisoner, Danzo... it was all still there under his skin. But now there was a light at the end of the tunnel. Something good he wasn't going to let himself run from.

Now he just had to figure out where the hell he was going to take her.


	25. Chapter 25

As much as she wished she'd look more presentable, Sakura couldn't help the celebratory fist pump as she walked away. She'd had every intention of leaving the crops with Tsunade at the Hokage Tower, stopping by the hospital for her check up, and _showering_ before she'd tried to seek out Kakashi. But as soon as she'd caught the flash of silver hair, she hadn't been able to help herself. The trip back had taken longer than she thought, though she was at least still within the mission parameters. Now all she needed to worry about was facing down Tsunade's inevitable anger that Sakura hadn't aborted the mission after the ambush.

Sakura greeted Shoji as she walked through the hospital doors, seeing his half hearted wave from behind his stack of papers before she headed down the spiralled staircase, swiping her medical personnel card at the heavy metal doors of poisons and antidote research and development. Since she was closer to the hospital after her detour to see Kakashi, she could always have Shizune check them in with Tsunade.

"Shizune? I'm back-oof!"

Shizune collided with Sakura, the grip of her arms tight around her shoulders before she pulled back, holding Sakura at arms length as she looked her over.

"Sakura, I was so worried! I was with Tsunade-sama when Katsuyu arrived- have you had your medical exam yet?'

"Ah, no," Sakura admitted, holding up her fistful of carefully labelled plants, "I was going to drop these off for storage and then find an available medic nin upstairs. I got your clothes all dirty," she gestured to Shizune's formerly pristine cream coloured top, now smeared with dirt and grass stains.

Shizune waved her off, taking the baggies and setting them in the incoming inventory box, her hand on Sakura's pulse.

"Sakura, I'm not worried about the shirt. When I found out Tsunade-sama had sent you on a mission, I was incredibly concerned. Please, come with me upstairs, I'll conduct your exam myself."

Sakura saw the pile of paperwork on Shizune's desk and the bright light above the examination table in the background; where several vials were lined neatly in a row. She could see from here that one of them was blood, though the others weren't labelled. The two syringes of sedative she had recovered from the bodies were lying uselessly in the biohazard bin, their contents now distributed through multiple smaller vials for testing.

"Shizune, you look busy. Really, I can-"

Shizune's medic nin death glare was almost as powerful as Tsunade, Sakura decided later, when she was sitting on the examination table in her underwear with Shizune poking and prodding her. Her patch job in the field hadn't been her best work, but Shizune begrudgingly admitted that there was no infection and it wouldn't scar, so Sakura counted that as a win. She'd exhausted herself in her haste to return home, but it was nothing a good rest and a hot meal wouldn't fix, and her chakra stores were well above average.

"Are you satisfied that I'm okay now, Shizune-san? I promise, if I'd felt I was in any serious danger, I would have come right back-"

Shizune raised one finger, silencing Sakura as she scribbled the updated notes into Sakura's medical file before letting it rest on the work tray, "It isn't me you're going to have a hard time convincing, Sakura-san. It's Tsunade."

As if called to them by magic, the door swung open with a bang. Sakura winced, knowing how much of a stickler Tsunade was for proper respect of medical examinations and privacy during checkups. In her hand, she clutched a wad of files that were stuffed to bursting. Sakura caught Danzo's name on several of the papers before Tsunade let them drop onto Shizune's medical tray with a slap that rattled the instruments. Aot taking her eyes off Sakura, she propped one hand on her hip and the other flat on the desktop.

"Tell me why I shouldn't put you in the genin ward permanently for directly disobeying my directions in regards on how to proceed if you were attacked on the mission. Tell me why I should let a medic who can't follow orders back in the field when I can have her push papers around all day?"

Sakura blinked, knowing that Tsunade was only making empty threats out of concern. She straightened her shoulders and cleared her throat, "I did what I thought was best for the mission. I was only a half day's journey from my intended location, and I was confident I had removed the threat. If you had been in my shoes, I assume you would have done the same."

She was sure her defence would have held up slightly better if she wasn't wearing nothing but chest bindings and orange underwear. She was toeing a fine line with the words that slipped out at the end. The sudden twitch in her left eye that Tsunade developed suggested maybe she could have reigned it in, but she stood firm. Tsunade pursed her lips and turned her gaze on Shizune, who had wisely busied herself with Sakura's file.

"I appreciate you getting the plants I requested. When Shizune is finished your exam, write up a report on the attack with as much detail as you remember and leave it on my desk. I'll defer to Shizune on when you should return to work, but I'd expect given your condition that I'll see you Sunday."

When she had walked out, letting the door slam pointedly behind her, Sakura let out the breath she had been holding, "Do you think she's really mad at me?"

Shizune was chewing on the inside of her cheek, a tell that there was something she was holding back. Eventually, Shizune pressed the stethoscope to Sakura's bare back.

"There's a lot going on, Sakura. Even in four days, it seems as though a lot has happened around here. I'm not even sure she's told me everything that's going on. Just give her a little time, I'm sure she'll come around."

Sakura toyed with the idea of pressing Shizune for more information, but she knew that when it came down to it, Shizune would respect the privacy of her friend and Hokage. Besides, she could always ask Kakashi when she saw him. On their date. The date that they were having _tomorrow._ She grinned, earning her a suspicious stare from Shizune. Sakura cleared her throat and reached for her shirt.

"Sorry, Shizune-san. I'm just really happy to be back."

Shizune's eyes narrowed, and Sakura smiled innocently in return. When finally dismissed, she all but skipped out of the hospital; bouncing off rooftops and breathing a relieved sigh when she finally landed in front of her home, throwing the door open and stretching her arms.

"Ugh, Pig, you won't _believe_ the- I am so sorry!"

Sakura turned around, hand clapped over her eyes and she heard the hurried sounds of buttons and zippers being put back in place. She'd seen both Shikamaru and Ino naked before, though it had been in either medical or onsen settings and not smushed on her couch in broad daylight. Ino cleared her throat and Sakura risked a peek between her fingers, happy to see that both of them were now fully clothed, however dishevelled they now looked.

"Forehead, I didn't expect you until tomorrow morning," Ino said, running her hand casually though her hair, as though Sakura hadn't just walked in something. Shikamaru was pink cheeked and his face shined with Ino's lipgloss, but he acknowledged her with a single raised finger and a nod.

"I was eager to get home," Sakura replied, looking between the two of them as she inched towards the staircase, "I'm just going to go unpack. I'm sorry for interrupting..."

"I was just leaving," Shikamaru mumbled, leaning in to brush a soft kiss on Ino's red mouth, not making eye contact as he slipped out the door. Ino folded her arms over her chest and huffed.

"Way to interrupt, Forehead."

Sakura threw her hands in the air, dropping her mission pack on the floor, "I'm not going to knock on my own front door! Don't you have a perfectly good bedroom with a _lock_?"

When Ino had taken it upon herself to move in with Sakura, the two had come up with a set of unwritten rules to keep out from under one another's feet. Not having sex in the common areas hadn't been said, but Sakura had kind of hoped it had been implied. Ino clicked her tongue and began gathering Sakura's discarded mission items, corralling them into a stray laundry basket and moving into the kitchen to rummage in the refrigerator.

"We were in my room until we heard someone come in through your window, and I didn't want Naruto kicking my door down looking for you if it was him. Turns out it was just the dogs. The ninken have been up there for an hour, I couldn't shake the feeling that they could hear me in the next room. Besides, Shika and I hadn't gotten anywhere yet, we were still-"

"Stop right there." Sakura interrupted, stuffing the croissant Ino held out into her mouth, "I'm begging you,"

Ino tossed her hair over one shoulder, starting to lay out dinner ingredients on the kitchen counter. As much as Sakura had her doubts when Ino had insisted they live together, it was a weight off her shoulders to have an extra pair of hands after a mission. Ino's stay had originally been temporary- a few months, Ino had insisted as she dragged her belongings into the living room. Sakura had been too tired to argue, curled up on the couch and still smarting from Sasuke's sudden death. She'd thrown herself into hospital work; nearly doubling the output of patients per day until midway through a surgery she'd found herself on the floor, Tsunade standing over her in a fuzzy light and her voice muffled and distorted. After that, she only remembered Naruto tucking her into a blanket cocoon on the couch, and Ino's belongings being piled up around her. Now, despite their occasional disagreement, Sakura couldn't fathom how she'd ever lived here alone.

Ino was making quick work of the vegetables, oil already sizzling hot in the pan. Sakura looked down at her dirty fingernails and sighed. As much as she wanted to shower, she should probably talk to the ninken first. She was thankful Ino hadn't found it strange that they were in her room, she had gotten used to them turning up at all hours for belly rubs or leftovers. Sakura saw a blob of orange waddle in through the doorway and she smiled, reaching down to scratch behind Mr Wiggles' ears as he began purring up a storm and weaving between her legs.

"That cat is malevolent, Sakura."

Sakura heaved him into her lap, ignoring the deep mewl of protest that disappeared into a thunder of purrs when she began to scratch his neck.

"He's harmless, Ino. Once he's lost a little more weight-"

Ino pointed the spatula in Mr. Wiggles' face, yanking it back when he tried to take a curious lick, " _Every. Night._ He scratched at the door to be let out, only to want to come right back in not even ten minutes later!"

Sakura dug her nails into the cat's neck, forcing him to sprawl out on her lap with a contented mewl. Ino waved the spatula again, eyes narrowed and unblinking as she stared him down.

"You're a menace."

Sakura snorted and scooped Mr. Wiggles up to deposit him back on the ground, much to his dismay. He yowled and began to circle her feet, trying to trip her up as she made her way to the staircase. He didn't make it further than the landing, however, when he sniffed the air, hissed and promptly turned his butt to Sakura, stalking back down the stairs without looking back. Apparently he wasn't fond of the ninken. Sakura braced herself before she entered, cracking the door open a fraction for it to be thrown open and three sets of eyes lock directly on her. She rubbed the bridge of her nose and smiled, reaching over to give Bull the same ministrations she had been giving Mr. Wiggles. Pakkun, who had made himself at home in the dent of her pillows, made a show of stretching and yawning before he lolled backwards.

"The Boss is taking you to dinner."

Sakura wasn't going to discuss her love life with a pack of dogs. Was she that pathetic? She winced, remembering the amount of times she had indulged in too much plum wine and sake and cried over soap operas with the ninken. Maybe she was way beyond that now.

She wasn't going to discuss her love life with a pack of dogs _again._ Especially when now it concerned their boss.

"Yep. And I _don't_ need any advice about it."

Sakura turned on her heel and headed for the bathroom, hearing the pitter pat of paws on the floor behind her. Wetting a washcloth, she began wiping down her face and arms before turning her attention to her fingernails. Pakkun and Bull were quiet beside her, but Sakura had spent enough time around them to know the silence wouldn't last long. They were Kakashi's ninken, after all. They were waiting. Hunting. Ready to pounce on their prey when they felt she was weakest.

"You'd make a good pack mate for him. All of us ninken agreed."

Sakura scrubbed into her nail beds, peeling back the layers of dirt with ease. She'd done this with dried blood so many times, a little dirt was a piece of cake. She snorted at the term 'pack mate', but still didn't take the bait. She and Kakashi were going on one date, which could very well end in disaster and result in some awkwardness between them for a little while. The ninken seemed ready to throw her a wedding.

"Why are you all so excited about this, ne? It's just a date."

"We like you, Sakura-chan. And not just cause you give us sausages and let us sleep on your bed. You were always a good kid and it's been a long time since we've seen Boss like this over some girl."

"And he used to bring a lot of girls over," Bull supplied, earning him a side kick from Pakkun's back leg. Sakura smothered a snicker, the knowledge that Kakashi had many companions in his time wholly unsurprising. He was wildly attractive, an accomplished shinobi, and his _abs-_ she cut off the train of thought and began to pick refuse out of her hair, letting it find a home in the wicker waste basket beside the sink. Pakkun trotted over to her, resting a single paw on her bare foot.

"All I'm saying, Sakura-chan, is that we could give you some good information about Kakashi. In exchange for some of whatever that blonde girl is cooking down there. As long as you kick that cat outside, that thing's weird, even for a cat."

Sakura looked down into the wide, pleading eyes of Kakashi's ninken and rolled her own, leaning down to scratch behind his ears, "I suppose you guys are welcome to join us for dinner. But don't mention anything to Ino just yet, okay? I don't want everyone in the village knowing about the date before it's even happened, and gossip travels like wildfire around here."

Bull was already halfway down the stairs, Bisuke close on his heels. Pakkun, looking particularly smug, headed for the doorway and called over his shoulder at her.

"You should wear your hair down. He likes it a lot."

Sakura shooed him with one hand and turned back to her reflection, pulling the last remnants of pine needles from her messy bun. She hesitated as she pulled on the tie in her hair, letting it fall around her shoulders. It _did_ look pretty nice when she let it down. A good wash, a quick brush. A fluff here and there. She smiled.

She was going to knock his socks off.

 _And hopefully his pants_

Sakura shook her head as she bundled her hair back up into a slightly skewed bun. She almost missed the days when her uninhibited inner self was just a pile of rage.

"Forehead! Get your ass down here before these dogs eat your share of dinner!"

On cue, her stomach let out an inhuman gurgle and Sakura abandoned her attempts at cleaning off. It could wait until after dinner. There were literal dogs at the table, Ino would forgive her for a few puffs of dirt.

* * *

It was almost embarrassing to admit that he had spent all of the day waiting for this date. He had rolled out of bed sometime in the mid morning and made his way to the cemetery with a fistful of flowers for Rin; telling her about his plans had helped stave off some of the pending nerves he could feel. Afterwards, when he had assured Rin he would be back to keep her updated about the date, he ambled to the cenotaph and sat in silence with Obito. It seemed somehow inappropriate to discuss his love with him when Obito had never gotten the opportunity to have his own. The thought that he would likely have to tell her about Sasuke was lingering in the back of his mind, but he didn't let himself dwell on it. He didn't make it back to his apartment until later in the afternoon; stopping by Genma's apartment to kill two birds with one stone by telling Shizune that Tsunade had several hidden sake bottles disguised as paperwork in her office. The effect was immediate, Shizune jumping off the couch where she was curled up with Genma to retrieve them. Tsunade would be pissed that her stash had been pilfered, and Genma's carefully planned date night was interrupted. Kakashi waved his returned copy of _Icha Icha_ in the air as a response to Genma's death glare, which slid off his face when Kakashi mouthed 'this isn't over' before slipping out of the apartment. In his desire to pass the time, he managed to fix both his kitchen sink and his refrigerator before the ninken began herding him towards the bathroom to get ready for his date.

He was a shinobi. He had faced death and walked away; he had killed men with his bare hands; he had a reputation that made people turn and run when they saw him. He shouldn't be afraid of a date. He'd dated plenty of women before.

Well. He'd been with plenty of women before. He'd never excelled at the 'dating' thing, much to the chagrin of his well meaning friends who often tried to set him up. The women he had tried making it work with had all ended in disaster, be it because of his profession or his general 'inability to act like he cared', as one woman had screeched between throwing potted plants at his head. But this was different- this was Sakura. After spending most of last night trying to figure out where the hell he was going to take her, he had finally figured it out. Normally he wouldn't put much thought into restaurants; most of the women he associated with were less concerned about the dinner part of the evening and more interested in getting naked once the cheque had been paid. But again, this was different.

This was Sakura.

"When was the last time you went on a date, Boss?"

Kakashi plucked several dog hairs off his black long sleeve, throwing it into the discarded pile of clothing. He'd banished most of the ninken due to their wholly unhelpful commentary, but Pakkun had snuck back in and made himself at home on the bed. Kakashi towelled absently at his still-damp hair before throwing it in Pakkun's general direction, smiling to himself when he heard it hit the target.

"I don't need your help, Pakkun."

"Sure you do. Remember that last lady? She was horrible."

Kakashi shook out a pair of his nicer black pants, frowning when his finger poked through a hole in the hem at the bottom left leg. It spoke volumes about his love life that he had to wrack his brain to remember which one of them Pakkun was referring to. It was likely the blonde from Kiri, who had ended their 'relationship' when she told him she didn't like dogs in the house. That or the brunette from Suna. Even Gai had nothing nice to say about her, and _that_ was saying something. Kakashi finally found the shirt he was looking for, a simple, thin grey cotton shirt. Pakkun made a face.

"What."

This was a nice shirt. He barely ever wore this shirt. Yes, it looked a lot like his other shirts, but it didn't have holes or stains so he considered it his good impression shirt.

"She liked that green one you wore that one time." Pakkun supplied helpfully from his perch on the pile of pillows, "She told me when she got drunk one night. Said you looked good when you wore actual colors."

Kakashi whirled back around to look at his wardrobe, noting the distinct lack of anything other than various shades of blue, grey, and black. When had he owned something green other than his flak jacket? He remembered, vaguely, unwrapping a gift from Gai and breathing a sigh of relief that it wasn't a lurid green spandex suit but what had he done with it?

He emerged from the depths of his closet ten minutes later with the sweater in hand, picking small amounts of lint from it. It looked surprisingly decent, he noted, considering it had been stuffed behind his boots for longer than he could remember. The fabric was closely woven in a thick material, providing warmth but still breathable. Now, in the light shining through his window, the green was a rich forest colour, not dissimilar to his flak jacket in a darker shade. He'd need to write Gai a thank you note. He finally located his slightly tighter black pants, ignoring Pakkun's critical eye. Shinobi always needed to be prepared to throw themselves off rooftops and not worry about not having enough mobility in their outfit.

He also wasn't sure he owned anything else. And he wasn't going to take fashion critiques from a pug.

"You should go soon, you're gonna be late."

Kakashi pulled the shirt over his head and ran a hand through the damp strange of hair now sticking up everywhere. He'd removed his hitai-ate and replaced it with a strip of black cloth tied in the same fashion.

"I've got an hour, Pakkun."

"You wanna make a good impression don't you?"

Kakashi tugged his pants into place and turned in the mirror, making sure there were no stray holes, furs, or stains on the fabric. He had to admit, the sweater looked good. It hugged his chest and arms and was soft on his skin, but it brought out the colour of his eyes. No wonder Sakura had liked it. The restaurant would be a bit of a walk, so he opted for comfortable footwear as he headed out the door, shutting it firmly in the faced of the group of ninken gathered behind it. Sakura's house wasn't an hour walk from him, but he took the time to wander in the neighbourhood, watching villagers coming home from their daily errands, storefronts shuttering at end of day while others were only just opening for the dinner time rush. Exhausted genin filed along the road, splattered with paint and cat scratches. Kakashi breathed deep, taking in the smell of fresh unagi and udon in the distance. He hoped Sakura was pleased with his choice of restaurant for their date; he had agonized over whether or not it would be too much for a first date, but eventually decided that if it turned out they weren't compatible, he wanted to at least give her the treatment she deserved.

"You look dashing today, Kakashi-kun," one of the older women purred teasingly as she watered the potted flowers in front of her store. Kakashi waved and she cackled, calling after him that he looked lovely in his pants. By the time he made it to Sakura's house, he was only slightly early. Better than late, he assured himself as he climbed the steps and hesitated by the door. He didn't know if Sakura had mentioned the date to Ino, and he didn't want to start anything gossip worthy. He was thankfully saved from the conundrum when the door swung open and he promptly forgot how to breathe.

She was wearing a pale green yukata with bright yellow sunflowers that swept along the hem and up onto the fabric; her hair pulled half up on her head while the rest fell across her shoulders. He could see the shine of her mouth with a swipe of pink and the evening breeze teased the scent of apples towards him.

"...hi."

"You're early." she said, clearly pleased as she closed and locked the door behind her, hitching the bottom of her yukata as she came down the stairs, flashing a glimpse of- Kakashi smiled behind his mask – sensible shoes.

"So where are we headed?" she asked as she fell into step with him, flashing him a smile.

"The North district," he answered immediately, "It's a bit of a walk, but I think you'll like it. It's a beautiful evening."

He hadn't planned on it, but the sun setting in the distance was the perfect setting for a romantic stroll. Sakura seemed to think so, shyly sliding her arm through his and keeping pace with him easily. If she was concerned about the walk, she didn't show it. She'd likely trekked through worse situations without the reward of food at the end.

"So... how was your day?"

Sakura smiled as she launched into a discussion about her garden, her pilfered cat, writing up reports and wrangling Naruto. Kakashi half listened, though not out of disinterest. Something about her seemed different, like there was a weight missing that was usually slung over her shoulders. She looked relaxed in a way he hadn't seen.

He selfishly hoped it was because of him.

* * *

This part of Konoha in the evening was unbelievably beautiful. The civilian district slowly climbed upwards, the restaurant situated almost at the highest point of the area. From their vantage point, Sakura could see the lights of Konoha cascading down the slope to pool in the town centre before they climbed upwards again in the direction of the Hokage Mountain. She'd never been to this part of the North district before, most of her time here was divided between her parent's home and the civilian clinic. Kakashi seemed to know where he was going, however, ducking easily under the string of lights hanging low over the intricately carved gate to the restaurant. The two had made easy small talk on the way over, and Sakura could feel her arm burning with the heat of Kakashi's body where their arms were pressed together. When she'd seen him in the green sweater, she'd had to compose herself to try and not drool.

The restaurant was beautiful; a renovated old home with a porch and brick work. The line was already stretched down the stone path, but Kakashi steered her around and to the back door, where he knocked three times. The man who opened the door smiled widely when he saw them, bowing at Kakashi and ushering them inside.

"Kakashi, glad to see you're on time. I've arranged your table by the window with a view of the garden and the district, as you requested."

Sakura didn't try and hide that she was impressed. This place was far fancier than anything she had been expecting. The man directed them to a booth in the corner, pressed against the large windows that showed a sprawling garden of herbs and vegetables with the backdrop of the village lights. When he had taken their drink orders – sake and green tea – Sakura stared out at the view in awe.

"Kakashi- this place, it's... _how_ did you get us in here on such short notice?"

"The man who let us in, the restaurant is his. He was in my Academy class," Kakashi explained, "Made it to chunin the same year as Obito. We even went on a few missions together afterwards. He was injured during the war, and the damage was irreparable, we spent some time together in the hospital after I had the sharingan implanted. I had to call in a few favors to get us a table tonight, but he was happy to oblige."

Sakura remembered the case file, it had been one of the first ones Tsunade had shown her as an example of what poor medical treatment can do to a shinobi. The hospital had been flooded with patients; the nurses and medics were understaffed and running on fumes. His injuries had been treated improperly and the resulting infection and trauma had rendered him unfit for physical combat. Sakura, admittedly surprised that Kakashi had such an impressive connection, was eager to ask more but was promptly silence when she turned back to Kakashi to find his mask gone.

"I...what...your mask..."

 _Flawless execution, Sakura. You damn dumbass._

"We're on a date, Sakura. It would be rude of me to keep my mask up the whole time, and the food here is excellent, I'd rather not have to find multiple excuses for you to look away from me so I can stuff it all in my mouth. Besides, you've seen me without my mask before."

Still reeling from being blindsided, Sakura just nodded dumbly. No matter how many times she would see him sans mask, it always felt like being hit by a baseball bat to see how... _handsome_ he was underneath it. All of their genin concerns about him being disfigured, fish lipped, and buck toothed had been so far off the mark it was almost hilarious to reflect on. He was...

 _Edible_

Yikes, brain. Calm down.

"Why do you wear the mask?" Sakura blurted, immediately screwing up her nose and closing her eyes, "Gah, I'm sorry. I just... I've always wondered and there's _so many_ rumors about it. And I don't think you've ever given me a straight answer." she propped her chin into her hand and batted her eyelids, "You wouldn't _lie_ to your date for the evening, would you? It's obvious that you aren't uglier than a mule's ass so..."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow and smiled, revealing a slight dimple in his right cheek, "Not uglier than a mule's ass, hmm? That's certainly a compliment."

For a moment, Sakura was worried he was going to leave her hanging with her question, but Kakashi leaned forward on the table and gave her his full attention.

"My father insisted I wear it when I was younger; his reasoning was something about protecting your identity as a shinobi, and how our similarities could get me into trouble with people he had disagreements with. If I'm honest, I don't know if any of that was true. Though people have certainly confused me with my father on more than one occasion, and sometimes it worked in my favor. I kept wearing it after he died because it was just part of who I was. And he was right... we do look incredibly similar. It's hard sometimes to look in the mirror and see your father looking back at you."

Sakura, who had been expecting a carefully spun tail of lies and drama in Kakashi's usual fashion, let the conversation dip into an uncomfortable silence. Kakashi had just openly shared something about his life that was deeply personal.

"...I shouldn't have asked." she said to break the tension, lowering her head apologetically, "I thought you were going to tell me some ridiculous story."

Kakashi smiled again, no trace of anger or disappointment in the lilt of his lips, "You aren't a genin anymore, Sakura. Most of my close friends know the truth about why I wear my mask, I didn't see why you should be any different. It is, however, usually a courtesy for you to share something personal when someone opens up for you."

Sakura reached for the cup of green tea and shrugged one shoulder, "I'm an open book, Kakashi. What would you like to know?"

"I've seen you in your garden after our missions, after we've killed missing nin. Why do you plant things for them as well as people you lost at the hospital?"

"I didn't realize you'd noticed," Sakura admitted, turning the cup in her palms anxiously. Kakashi shrugged.

"I notice a lot of things, but I know that not everything needs to be commented on. If you'd rather not answer, I'll understand."

Sakura shook her head and flicked open the menu to busy her hands.

"Everyone- even the people we fight – they were _someone_ to somebody. Obviously there are exceptions," she added, and the name of a certain snake tongued bastard went unsaid, "but a lot of the shinobi we fight honestly believe they're doing the right thing. I think.. I think about what would have happened if Sasuke had never come back. If he'd been killed by another person, or captured by another village. To them, he was a monster. But to us, he meant something. Even if they were bad people in our eyes, I like to remind myself that someone out there is probably mourning them, or the person they used to be. I know it's stupid-"

"It's not."

Kakashi had spoken so firmly, so sure of his words, that Sakura hesitated before she tried to speak again.

"- I've watched a lot of people die, Kakashi. Even some of the missing nin we fight, they've called for their mothers. Their lovers. I just wanted to give something to the people they used to be."

She fidgeted under Kakashi's gaze, surprised when he reached out and closed his hand over hers.

"You're an excellent person, Sakura."

She was saved from turning into a blubbering mess by their waiter arriving, and when she realized she didn't know what she wanted, she looked to Kakashi.

"If you've been here before, I trust your opinions." she said with a smile, "Would you order for us?"

He rattled off a list of things that Sakura had seen on the menu with ease, handing over both of them to the waitress, who looked starstruck and only nodded. When she was gone, Kakashi folded his arms on the table and smiled at Sakura.

"I remembered you didn't like spicy food, so I avoided any of that. But I think you'll be impressed, they farm their own vegetables and all of the meat they serve comes from the farm just outside the village."

Sakura definitely was impressed; and the information told her that this place was certainly as fancy as she's suspected. On first dates, she tended to split the bill, which hopefully wouldn't give her a heart attack when she saw it. With the seriousness of their previous conversation lifted by the presence of the waitress, Sakura decided to turn things to something happier.

"I'm going to ask you five questions and you're going to answer them without thinking, okay?"

She laughed at Kakashi's bemused expression, but he agreed nonetheless. Sakura continued her barrage of questions, Kakashi answering them without pause.

"Favourite animal."

"Dog."

"Best time of day?"

"Dawn."

"Favourite fruit?"

"Peach."

"Really?"

"That counts as a question. Yes."

Sakura huffed, having already planned her last two questions. She toyed between the two, finally settling on one she thought he would enjoy.

"When did you decide you wanted to ask me to dinner?"

Kakashi smiled.

"When I saw you come out of the hospital in that outfit you wore for training."

 _CHA! I knew that outfit was perfect!_

Sakura giggled, but didn't pursue the topic any further. Instead, she reached across the table and gripped Kakashi's sake cup and brought it to her lips. She knew he could have stopped her, but instead he waited until she had set the cup down before he brought it to his own lips, right where her pink lip gloss marks were printed.

"Tell me something about yourself that nobody else knows," he said, wiping the thin film of gloss from the bow of his lips. Sakura's brow furrowed.

"Ne, I gave you _easy_ questions!"

"I'd hardly say that asking me to pick a favourite fruit is an easy question, Sakura."

He seemed to be immune to her death stare, she noted. She would need to take lessons from Shizune and Tsunade. While she thought, she fiddled with her napkin and wracked her brain. She hadn't been lying earlier, she did consider herself to be an open book. There was almost nothing about her that someone, somewhere knew. Kakashi was patient while he waited, drawing patterns on the tabletop with his fingers. Sakura perked up when the thought struck her.

"My hiiobaasan was a kunoichi! I don't think I've told people that before."

She was proud to note that the tidbit of information piqued Kakashi interest. He had set his sake aside and was watching her with a confused glance. She preened slightly under the attention.

"When I was assigned Team 7 as genin, I was told you were from a fully civilian family."

Sakura waved one hand, tipping it side to side, "Maa, I am. My hiiobaasan's parents were civilians, and myobaasan, okaasan and otousan are all civilians. My ohiisan fought in the first shinobi war she-" Sakura faltered, not wanting to dampen the mood but knowing she had been the one to open this line of conversation, "She died. My obaasan was still young at the time, she hated the shinobi of the village for it. She refused to let my okaasan become a kunoichi, not that she was interested. When she found out I was one, she wasn't happy. She lives outside of Konoha now."

Kakashi offered her a soft apology, that she accepted with a casual shake of her head, "I know why she feels that way, and she never tried to stop me from following my dream. She just makes rude comments when she thinks I can't hear, and I can say whatever I want to her because she's deaf as a post now."

The sound of food sizzling on hot plates ended their conversation, and Sakura's eyes widened as she watched the waitress pile food onto the table. Kakashi seemed to remember that she had a large appetite. Sakura abandoned all sense of propriety when the waitress had disappeared, her stomach growling with it's own personality and saliva pooling in her mouth. Kakashi seemed to be in the same boat, chopsticks already in hand.

"Itadakimasu!" she and Kakashi chimed.

About three bites in to the chicken disk, Sakura decided she wasn't sharing. The food was better than anything she had eaten in months. She was so busy eating that she didn't even mind the smug grin on Kakashi's face when she was sure she drool into the plate. Between the two of them, they successfully demolished five plates of food before Kakashi motioned to the waiter, who collected their plates and hurried away. Sakura rubbed her stomach and sighed happily.

"I might marry you for bringing me here," she joked, "this is my new favorite place."

"I hope you didn't eat too much."

The anko dumplings dripped syrup in thick strands when Kakashi brought one to his lips, humming thoughtfully as he sucked the sticky syrup from his fingertips.

"I don't normally like sweet things, but this isn't bad."

Sakura was going to go into a food coma. The dumplings tasted like the first bloom of spring, like the sunrise cresting over the mountain tops, like that one time Naruto had laryngitis and couldn't talk for two weeks.

"Do I need to leave you and the dumplings alone?" Kakashi snarked.

Sakura stuffed two dumplings into her cheek, "I'm leaving you for the dumplings, Hatake. You can go."

His laughter was even better than the dumplings.

When the last remnants of syrup had been scraped from the plate, Sakura slumped back in the booth and sighed dreamily. The restaurant was getting more and more crowded by the hour. Sakura, though not wanting to end the evening, decided it was better that they begged off. Kakashi seemed to agree, somehow finding their waiter and having the bill appear on their table. Sakura inwardly winced, but couldn't deny it was worth every ryo. Shereached for her purse, but Kakashi held out his hand, "I wouldn't be a gentleman if I let a lady pay for her meal."

"Ne, Kakashi, I can't expect you to-"

The man from earlier was already swooping in, the two men sharing an understanding nod as Kakashi slipped something into his hand before he disappeared after a respectful bow. Sakura jabbed a finger at Kakashi's chest.

"That was cheating."

Kakashi laughed and slipped his jacket around Sakura's shoulder, leaning in close to her ear as he tucked it around her, "I never thought I'd hear you complain about me paying for dinner, Sakura. If it makes you feel better, you can pay next time."

 _Next time?_

 _Hell. Yes._

She was going to question why he had forfeited his jacket, but the blast of cold air as he opened the door ahead of her made her suck in a quick breath. Summer might be around the corner, but spring wasn't done being chilly. She huddled in the jacket and shifted a fraction closer to Kakashi, who was somehow radiating warmth in the cool air.

"I had a good time," she whispered, feeling the volume was appropriate somehow.

"So did I, it's a shame to see it end. Though, it's generally customary for a man to walk his date home. If that's alright with you."

Yes. Yes that was definitely alright with her. The walk back was just as beautiful as the first trip had been; the moon full and bright in the sky splashed with stars. They didn't speak, which on other dates had unsettled Sakura to no end, but they fell into a silence that settled comfortably between them. Halfway down the incline, Kakashi reached for her hand and didn't let go. Sakura was thankful that the darkness around them wouldn't betray the hot blush staining her cheeks. Sakura felt a tug of disappointment when the porch light of her house appeared in the distance, knowing that the night was coming to an end. Part of her, deep in the back of her mind, wanted to invite Kakashi in. She was sure she could come up with some excuse; a cup of tea, some more conversation... some long, slow kisses on the couch to quench the fire that he was causing to rage in her gut.

 _Maybe go on a few more dates before you try to get in his pants_ she scolded herself.

Ignoring the touch starved part of her brain that was screeching to take him inside, she pushed her creaking gate open and stepped onto the pebbled path.

"I have something to show you."

She took his hand, ignoring the butterflies that burst into life in her stomach when his warm skin touched her own. She weaved him around the garden, finally coming to a stop at a freshly turned over patch of soil, pointing to the tiny plant now nestled in the dirt. Kakashi blinked.

"It's...lovely?"

Sakura laughed, "I took a cutting from the evergreen forest. They grow it there to use the leaves and flowers in poisons. It's a solanum melongena."

Kakashi was giving her the side eye, clearly still not understanding. Sakura gave one of the leaves a small poke, "It's an eggplant."

Kakashi's eyes widened slightly before he brought a hand up to his forehead and began laughing, shoulders shaking and an undignified snort coming from the back of his throat.

"You _stole_ an eggplant cutting from the evergreen forest?"

Sakura shrugged her shoulders, feeling the butterflies take flight again at the sound of his unrestrained laughter. "The plant itself was fully grown and perfectly healthy. Besides, I technically won it in a game of arm wrestling. But if Tsunade asks... I found it."

"Tsunade doesn't exactly have a green thumb, Sakura. I'm sure she won't even notice. How long until you actually get an eggplant from this thing?"

"Sixty to sixty four days." Sakura answered, biting the inside of her cheek when she realized how quickly she'd responded. Kakashi was looking at her with the half smile that made her knees weak. He stepped closer, gently taking her hand and running the pad of his thumb along her palm.

"Do I have to wait that long to have dinner with you again? Because that's certainly a long time."

Sakura could feel the flush creeping up her neck and she ducked her head, letting her hair fall in her face, "Actually, I was hoping I could see you a lot sooner than that. Say maybe...tomorrow?"

"Did you have anything in mind?"

 _No I just want to see you again_

"The spring market is happening around midday. Maybe we could go together?"

 _Good save_

Kakashi stepped closer to her again, and Sakura raised an eyebrow and closed the distance further, much to his apparent delight.

"I suppose that sounds nice. I'll meet you there."

Sakura stepped closer again, this time letting her hand curl in the fabric of his soft sweater. Kakashi glanced down at her hand and then met her eyes.

"Do you kiss on the first date?"

"Not usually," Sakura admitted, "Though I can't remember the last time I had a first date this good. So I could make an exception, _I suppose._ "

He was so close that she could count the crinkles around his eyes and the tiny, palest brown freckles that splashed across his cheeks. He smelled like aftershave and she wanted to bury her nose in the crook of his neck and breathe deeply. The corners of his lips turned up as he leaned in, cupping his large hands around her jaw and placing a soft, barely there kiss on her mouth. He had pulled away before she had a chance to respond, but even that brush of lips had her heart pounding in her chest and blood roaring in her ears.

"Goodnight, Sakura. I'll see you tomorrow?"

Sakura nodded, moving to slip his jacket from her shoulders but stopping when he waved her away, heading backwards across the gravel path through her garden, "Keep it. It looks better on you."

The gate creaked as he let it swing shut, and Sakura wasn't sure how long she stood there in the darkness, staring after him and clutching the coat around her body. A crackle from the bushes brought her out of her daze, finding Mr. Wiggles squirming his way out of a hedge with an irritated mewl. Sakura sighed heavily and crouched beside him, seeing that the bulk of his fat was too large to fit through the brambles he was trying to escape from. Sakura fished a kunai from her ankle (she knew the likelihood of her having to use it was slim, but in Konoha you never really knew what was going to happen from one day to the next), and carefully sliced at the offending branches until Mr. Wiggles broke free, tearing off to the door to scrape his claws along the frame.

"Yeah, yeah. You're welcome," Sakura mumbled, dusting off her palms and rising to her feet. She glanced down when she saw tufts of orange fur sticking to some of the branches, her eyes flicking back to the dirt behind the hedge and stopping when they saw something that definitely shouldn't be there.

A set of boot prints, perfectly placed as though someone had been crouched behind her hedges. The deep packed soil in the grooves, and the lack of grass and weed growth made her stomach turn. Someone had been here. And they had been watching her.

* * *

 **A/N-** **Not to get sappy, but this chapter is dedicated to every person who reached out to me after my note in the last chapter because you guys are amazing. In a fandom so large, and shipping a pairing that's not canon, I expected a few 'u suck' messages. But having someone read my entire story and give me a chapter by chapter breakdown of why they hated it really rattled my self esteem as a writer. But the people who've messaged me and sad such beautiful things, you're amazing.  
**

 **So here's an entire 8k about these two being absolute dorks.**

 **3**


	26. Chapter 26

Sakura let herself into her home, watching as Mr Wiggles shot between her legs and darted up the stairs. She was pushing the image of the boot print from her mind for the time being, Tsunade likely had shinobi watching her if she was concerned that someone was interested in her abilities. For now, she made her way to her bedroom, pulling her hair from the fabric tie and letting the jacket slip from her shoulders. The butterflies in her stomach still lingered from Kakashi's kiss, however chaste it may have been. She wanted to gush to Ino about her evening, but Shikamaru's genin team was being sent on their first mission outside the Konoha border and the pair were spending the night together before he had to leave. Sakura settled for flopping down on her bed, arms gripping her pillow as she squealed into it like a lovestruck genin. She rolled over and clutched Kakashi's jacket, throwing it over her face and kicking her feet in glee. She lay there for a long time, feeling the steady beat of heart pick up every time she let her mind wander back to their evening. Konoha was almost silent by the time she finally broke out of her giddy stupor and prepared for bed, being sure to fold her yukata neatly on the chair before slipping beneath the covers. Mr. Wiggles was perched on her windowsill, face firmly squashed against the glass as he looked out over her garden, no doubt day dreaming about catching the night creatures darting about. Sleep didn't come easily, the overwhelming urge to _talk_ to someone still bouncing around in her chest. She wouldn't bother Ino, but...

Naruto, for as much as his rambunctious enthusiasm shone through, had grown into exactly the kind of man she trusted to lead the village. Their bond as friends was tighter than she had with anyone, her mentor included. They had, Sakura admitted to herself with a sad smile, drifted over the last year. Naruto had thrown himself wholeheartedly into his training to become Hokage. His solo journey to -Sakura was still unsure where – after Sasuke's death had changed him somehow. In another time, Sakura would have hesitated before admitting to him what was building between her and Kakashi. But now..

Her bare feet hit the cold floor and she threw Kakashi's jacket over her shoulders, grabbing the first pair of sandals she could reach before jumping quietly out her window- much to Mr. Wiggles' chagrin. Naruto's apartment wasn't far, and he had flopped unannounced into bed beside her enough times that she could stand to return the favour. Sakura landed on Naruto's windowsill with practised ease, one hand already reaching out to slide the pane of glass aside to let herself in when she paused. There was definitely more than one person in Naruto's bed. And they were definitely not wearing clothes. Sakura eased the tiny crack of glass she had opened back into place and held her breath, hoping that Naruto's keen senses hadn't been alerted to her presence already. Naruto remained sprawled across the bed, mouth open and wheezing a soft snore. Hinata was curled up tight beside him in a tight ball, her hair fanning over the pillows and half in Naruto's face. None of it looked comfortable, but that wasn't her business. She hit the ground silently and effortlessly, making her way back in the direction of her home. She noticed her tail when she was close to halfway back, they'd made no effort to hide their chakra. She slowed her pace slightly, knowing it was likely someone might just be heading in the same direction of her. When the person slowed too, Sakura stopped and turned around.

"I know you're there."

A beat.

A shadow on a rooftop moved, a tall figure blocking the throw of the moonlight before they leapt down in front of her, the shiny reflection of their porcelain mask glowing eerie in the night. Sakura relaxed her shoulders and smiled.

"Good evening Neji, I didn't expect to see you here. Why are you following me?"

The man didn't indicate in any way that he had heard her, only motioned to a darkened alleyway between the buildings. Sakura followed, curious as to what he could want at such a late hour. When they were nestled between the bricks, Neji slipped the porcelain mask from his face, looking unimpressed.

"ANBU identities are means to be classified. How did you know it was me?"

 _That_ was what he was concerned about? Sakura laughed quietly and folded her arms, "Neji, I'm one of three medics approved to work in the ANBU emergency ward. I'm briefed on all ANBU operatives' identities in case I need to operate or treat without mask removal. And even if I wasn't, I'd recognize you anywhere."

She'd gotten her hands on enough of his body to have it burned into her brain, not that she was going to admit that aloud. Neji tucked his ANBU mask into his mission belt.

"I'm looking for Hinata. I received communication from one of the clans we are trying to reestablish contact with; she requested I alert her immediately but she wasn't in the compound. When I saw you walking, I thought perhaps you would know where she was."

Sakura blinked innocently, but Neji rolled his eyes as he continued, "But given that I can't sense her chakra, and you're making your big eyes at me- she's with Uzumaki."

"Maybe. I don't know."

Neji's lips twitched, but didn't curl, "It's late."

"Mmm, it is, isn't it?"

They shared a look, a mutual understanding. They had been those two people in love before, wanting nothing more than to remain uninterrupted while they sat in their own little world. Neji sighed, "I'll speak with her when she returns in the morning. The Hokage has summoned members of ANBU to the underground holding cells for a meeting."

She knew Neji was offering her information he thought she might not already know, and he was right. For Tsunade-sama to call ANBU together at such a late hour meant it was important. She made a mental note to scope out what she could the next time she saw her. Neji was taking in her appearance, the frayed bottoms of her pajamas and the oversized shirt. She hadn't exactly been expecting to run into anyone this late at night.

"You looked nice this evening. With Hatake."

Sakura choked on her own spit, eyes wide as she tried to figure out how and when Neji had seen them together. Though they hadn't spoken about it, the two had used less populated paths to try and avoid anyone seeing them and turning their date into the latest piece of gossip. Neji inclined his head apologetically.

"Hinata isn't usually so difficult to find, especially with the byakugan. I assumed, since she was masking herself from me intentionally, that you or Ino would be able to tell me where she was. Ino was... preoccupied. When I located you, I felt it best not to intervene on the situation."

"Ah.. well, thank you."

She didn't know the proper protocol for talking to your ex about your new... person. And apparently neither did Neji, who cleared his throat before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a crumpled piece of paper. The words _Be safe_ were scribbled at the top, a lopsided heart printed underneath. Sakura recognized that handwriting anywhere, she'd approved enough medical files by the writer.

"Himari? She's lovely, Neji. How did you two meet?"

Neji shuffled in place and Sakura smiled, but waited patiently for him to reply.

"The day I brought you coffee at the hospital after the attack on the gates; we had a conversation. She is... comforting."

Not wanting to embarrass him, Sakura chose not to comment any further. Instead, she watched him tuck the note – ever so carefully, as though it was made of glass- back into his pocket before he pointed behind him.

"I have to go. Perhaps I will see you again sometime soon? My squad has been alerted that we may be sent away on a mission soon, I requested to the Hokage that you be our medic, if possible."

She knew, privately, that the likelihood of Tsunade sending her away again was slim, at least until everything had blown over. But, with her ego suitably stoked, she nodded. He was already disappearing around the corner when a thought struck her, forcing her to call out into the empty space.

"Neji?"

He turned back to her, one eyebrow quirked in silent question. Sakura cast a quick glance around them and moved closer, dropping her voice to a low, conspiratorial volume.

"Does Tsunade-sama have anyone from ANBU staking out my house?"

"Sakura, you know I can't tell you-"

Sakura waved a hand, knowing that despite the small tidbits he shared with her on occasion, he still had a loyalty to specific information, "Neji, I found boot prints in my garden. A perfect surveillance spot where I likely wouldn't notice. I just want to know if I should worry."

Neji's brow had creased, and that was all the answer she would really need. Tsunade hadn't planted anyone from ANBU in her garden.

"...you should alert the Hokage immediately."

"I'll tell her in the morning," Sakura assured him gently, "Go to your meeting."

Neji didn't seemed impressed by her nonchalant attitude, but bid her goodnight regardless. Sakura resumed her walk, now with a sense of trepidation. What could someone want from her so badly that they were willing to stake out her home? How long had they been there? Was Ino in danger? She knew who she wanted to talk to about this, the fork in the road tempting her to turn away from her own home and in the direction of Kakashi's. Was it acceptable to show up at his house this late at night, especially after a date? He would probably think she was trying to get into his bed.

 _aren't you?_

Sakura huffed and headed down the empty streets towards her home. She could talk Ino's ear off tomorrow.

* * *

"Did you kiss her?"

"Did you hold her hand?"

"Did she like the sweater?"

Kakashi hadn't experienced this type of greeting since the time he'd walked through the door with almost an entire mission paychecks worth of sausages. He ignored the onslaught of questions, choosing instead to head towards his bedroom, hands curling under the hem of his sweater to pull it up and over his chest.

"I'm flattered but not even your rock solid abdominals can tempt me away from Shizune."

Kakashi blinked. Genma sat cross legged on his kitchen counter top, fiddling with the senbon in his hands. Kakashi also noted that his wall had more suspiciously senbon-looking marks in it than what he had left. He tugged the sweater back over his head and sighed.

"Did we have plans? Because I made... more important plans."

Genma snorted, "Yeah, the ninken were happy to fill me in on the details. You took her to Soyokaze _and_ you're getting her a Inuzuka dog? Gai might start coming to you for romantic advice."

Kakashi fidgeted uncomfortably. Romance wasn't exactly his strong suit, he'd been told. Maybe he was overcompensating? He cracked open a beer on the counter and handed it to Genma, who took it and drained the bottle in several deep swigs. Kakashi politely didn't mention the four other empty bottles of his beer that were on the counter.

"Are you fighting with Shizune?"

"Eh? No, no we're good. I think she might know I'm thinking of proposing but that's fine, it takes some of the pressure off."

Kakashi nursed his beer, watching as Genma cracked open another and sighed, finally seeming to find the courage to say why he was in Kakashi's kitchen at this hour.

"I ran into Kurenai and Mirai today. She's getting so big- she looks a lot like Asuma. Must be hard for Kurenai, you think?"

Ah.

The loss of Asuma had been a blow that knocked most of the shinobi of the village off their feet. It was well known that their jobs were dangerous, they killed with their bare hands and had their lives on the line every time they set foot outside the gates. It was the life they had chosen. But the loss of one of their own never failed to cut deeper than they could ever prepare for. Asuma's death had been particularly hard on Genma, he had been the first one of the group to be told. Genma twirled the senbon between his fingers and sucked his teeth.

"Shizune and I, just before the first failed mission... she thought she might be pregnant. There'd been a back log at the hospital, she'd been ill.. bunch of stuff all at once and she didn't keep up on the birth control. Turned out she wasn't pregnant, but I think she was disappointed she wasn't, you know? That's what made me realize I wanted to marry her. Not cause I felt like I had to, but as soon as I thought we might be having a kid, I wanted her to be my wife even more than I did before. Then that mission happened. Then the second mission. Then the gate attack. And now whatever's happening that's got the Hokage and you and Shizune acting like scared mice. And Mirai and Kurenai today..." he flung the senbon into the wall and sighed, "Makes me wonder... if I have a kid are people gonna look at it and say ' _you look just like your father. Shame he died_.' Kurenai said people say that to her. They just... say it right to her face. Can you believe that?"

Kakashi nodded, but didn't say anything. Genma clearly had a lot to get off his chest, still only speaking between deep drinks of his beer.

"Fuck, Kakashi. It's not like people like us retire, you know?"

"You could."

It wasn't unheard of, though it was usually kunoichi who stepped back from their active participation in ninja activity. Barely a generation ago, however, men who retired weren't held in very high regard with the village. But a lot of things were different back then. Kakashi knew that a little too well.

Genma snorted, "And do what? Push papers on a desk? I'm not that kind of guy. I love the thrill of the fight, the adrenaline of doing the right thing. But I want... I want a family with Shizune. I really do. But is it fair to put her in that position? Where she's up all night worrying about me not coming back from a mission?"

His concerns were, Kakashi hated to admit, not unfounded. This village was crawling with orphans and widowed shinobi, men and women who were presented with a Konoha flag and a solemn thanks for their significant others' service. His father had been one of them, but he remembered the warmth in his father's smile when he spoke of her, how every day he still poured a second cup of tea that was left to go cold on the windowsill. How what the two of them had been before she died had been something worth having. He thought of Obito and Rin, who had never had a chance to love as hard as they could have. Of Sasuke, whose entire clan was going to disappear into history. Of Kurenai, who had clearly found love again, and was loving just as hard as she ever had.

He thought of pink hair and green eyes and his heart lurched to somewhere around his knees.

"I think Shizune would kick your ass if she thought for a second you would sacrifice something you loved just for her. Get married, Genma. Have a kid. Have two. Have six if that's what you and Shizune really want. Create your own generation of an Academy graduating class. Whether or not you're a shinobi or not, you're going to end up dead one day. At least make sure your life was worth something before you do. And I know you didn't need to come here and drink my beer for you to know that. So whatever you wanted to hear me say when you came here, I hope I said it. You and Shizune work well together, she keeps your head out of your ass for the most part."

The chiding was as gentle as he could make it, knowing Genma in his inebriated state wouldn't likely remember. He let Genma finish the beer in his hand, but was prepared to wrestle away another if it came to it. Kakashi didn't feel like being on the receiving end of explaining to Shizune why her partner was drunk and passed out on his kitchen counter. He was saved from having to do so, however, by a gentle knocking on his front door.

"Kakashi-san? I'm sorry to bother you so late, but is Genma there?"

Upon hearing Shizune's voice, Genma broke into a wide grin and stumbled to the door, flinging it open and pulling Shizune close to him for a deep kiss. She relaxed into his embrace, tipping her head and fisting one hand into his hair before she squeaked and shoved him back, wiping her mouth and blushing furiously as she bowed at Kakashi.

"I am so sorry, Kakashi-san. I'll- ah- I'll take him home. I'm so sorry he bothered you."

"No bother, Shizune," he assured her with a smile, watching Genma stare at Shizune where she couldn't see, his eyes glazed over as though seeing her for the first time, "we were just having a manly discussion about life. I do hope you found those sake bottles Tsunade was hiding- I'd _hate_ for her to be spending her time shut up in that office and drinking."

Shizune, thankfully, didn't press for answers about their conversation and didn't question as to how he had known the bottles were there. She swept Genma away, who raised a pilfered bottle of beer in the air with triumph before the door snapped shut behind them. Kakashi could hear Shizune's whispered horror at being kissed so personally in front of Kakashi, but it was soon drowned out by Genma mumbling sweetly to her. Kakashi leaned against the kitchen counter and wiped one hand over his face. That had been a hell of an adventure. Good to know he could pull together a decent pep talk when the time required it. Now he could go to bed. Pakkun waddled over.

"So. Did you kiss her?"

Kakashi sighed. He weighed his options, finally deciding that it would be easier to answer and run than to try and deal with them all night.

"...yes."

The loud chorus of cheers made him roll his eyes as he closed the bedroom door in their faces.

Maybe he'd take the new ninken puppy. Sakura could have his nosy brats.

* * *

The underground cells were bleak by design; but something about it tonight seemed even duller somehow. The members of ROOT who had refused to divulge any information were lined up against the wall, their wrists bound by chakra manacles and their feet anchored to the floor with steel bonds. Tsunade looked out at the sea of porcelain masks and cleared her throat, clasping her hands in front of her.

"As all of you know, Danzo is dead. These shinobi were part of the ROOT organization, and have refused to trade information for their lives. What you do not know, is that this goes further than anything I have lead you to believe. Jiraiya and I have complied enough evidence to posthumously find him guilty of treason against Konoha, and the shinobi before you have been sentenced to death for failing to comply with my orders. Despite Danzo's death, the village is still under threat from external- _and_ internal forces. I am trying my best to reason with the people on the outside, but you have all been summoned here to be placed on an indefinite mission within Konoha. We have spies within the borders, and it is your job to locate them and bring them to me. But first... I need to make myself very clear."

She stood in front of the three shinobi, arms folded and her face blank. "I want the last thing the three of you see to be the Will of Fire that this village has. Take a good look. These people are here to protect us- these people are the heroes of this village. Not you."

The man smirked, head tilted in a snide greeting. "You are the leaves bathing in the sun, and I am the roots that grow-"

Tsunade reached out, her hand only a blur as she seized the man's chin and twisted it with a sickening crunch. His body dropped to the ground, but no one in the room moved. She surveyed the remaining ROOT members, calm and collected. The kunoichi of the bunch sneered, and Tsunade crouched to her level.

"This is your last chance to provide me with useful information. Or you will die here in this room, and no one will ever know or care. I'm sure Danzo filled your heads with some kind of nonsense about eternal praise and acknowledgement- but Danzo is dead. There's nobody left to celebrate you, and your death will be as meaningless to me as the deaths you assisted in. You're only a martyr if someone cares."

The kunoichi remained stoic, and Tsunade shrugged as she twisted the woman's neck 180 degrees, feeling the snap and pop of bones under her palm. The last man in the line of ROOT members had remained impassive, but Tsunade saw him flinch at the thud of another body hitting the ground. He was young- young enough to be a recruit of Danzo's in the last ten years. Young enough that he could have changed his mind when offered the chance, and yet he held strong. But now, with two dead bodies beside him, Tsunade could see something else flickering behind his eyes. She leaned in.

"If there's something you want to say, now would be the time."

His eyes were darting from her to the bodies of his fallen teammates- to the ANBU lined up behind her and to her hands, not bloodied but clearly dangerous.

"I... I have information," he finally whispered, broken and trembling. Tsunade almost felt guilty, this member was just a kid. Likely yanked from his family by Danzo and thrown into the warped conditioning before he had a chance to understand anything different. Tsunade nodded, jabbing one finger perfectly into his neck and watching him slump against his restraints. She turned back to the ANBU members.

"I have one man in custody who might be able to provide me with information, but there are still upwards of seven foreign shinobi who have disappeared within our borders. I want the village and the outskirts searched. Break into teams of two, and be discreet. If you find anyone, you are forbidden from engaging unless they act upon you first. I want these shinobi alive, it is highly likely they are involved or have information about people who were involved. You have one week to return to me with anything you find, and we will meet again to discuss tactics. Dismissed."

The ANBU filed out, none of them even daring to look over their shoulders. Tsunade could see one of them lingering at the tail of the line- Hyuuga.

"What."

"...Sakura will speak to you tomorrow. If she doesn't- send for her."

He was gone in a flash, no doubt knowing she would pin him down for information if he lingered. Tsunade looked at the bodies and the unconscious teen before letting her shoulders slump. She was going to go back to her office and have a very long moment with her sake bottles.

* * *

"Where the hell have you two been."

The two members of her Guard Platoon shared a concerned look, but Tsunade slammed her hand on her desk and barked the question again. She'd been in her office no more than ten minutes when the hesitant knock had come at her door, forcing her to shove the hefty bottle of sake into a drawer. When her two MIA Guard Platoon members had slinked through the door like guilty cats, she had briefly considered penning her resignation request.

"We're unsure, Hokage-sama," Iwashi admitted quietly, "We were following Haruno-san as you requested, but shortly after entering the forest... we have no memory of anything else. Raido-san and I both awoke yesterday morning on the outskirts of the village with no visible injuries. We were unbound, uninjured, and showed no signs of mental trauma. The last thing both of us remember is deciding to keep a further distance from Haruno-san, as she seemed to be highly alert and we were worried we would be discovered. We briefly rested by the base of a tree, and heard a possible third party approaching. After that..." he raised his hand helplessly, "We are unsure."

Someone who wanted them out of the way but didn't want to kill them. It was becoming a pattern. The attack on the gates had been an anomaly, but could be easily explained by a shinobi who only wanted to kill their one target, but for two high ranking shinobi from Konoha to be completely at the mercy of someone and to emerge without a scratch? Whoever was doing this clearly didn't want to create too much collateral damage. Another piece of a puzzle she didn't know the full picture to you. Excellent.

"Head to medical. Shizune is on call and will give you a full body check up and blood screening to check for any slow acting poisons or sedatives that could have been used. Unless Shizune suggests otherwise, return to work as normal."

The men shared a glance and each laid a scroll on her desk, the usual mission report format inked out neatly on both of them: mission description, time of departure, and what they could remember. Tsunade waited until the door had closed behind them before she hooked her fingers around the neck of the sake bottle and drank deeply, one hand forming a fire jutsu that caught the scroll and devoured them in moments.

There was no need for a record of their mission. Not this time.

She propped her legs up on the desk and sighed, squinting one eye as she looked out at the Hokage Mountain and held her fingers up against the Sandaime's head, mimicking crushing it a few times before she groaned and went back to her sake.

"I'd ask who the village pissed off so badly," she mumbled to the empty room, "But let's be realistic here... that is list is probably longer than the number of people I owe money to."

And wasn't _that_ saying something?

* * *

The weather didn't disappoint for the market today, the sun beating down with a force usually reserved for the middle of summer. The sky was a crisp blue and cloudless, dotted with birds swooping down on the villagers in the hopes of scavenging some of the food. Sakura lounged back on the bench, stretching her bare legs out into the sunshine and feeling it soak deep into her skin. She could already feel a slight tightness on her shoulders, now speckled with freckles and tainted the slightest kiss of pink. She stayed there, head tipped back to the sunshine, until a shadow fell over her.

"You're late."

"I do have a very good excuse."

Sakura opened one eye and was met with a brown bag from the bakery that made the chocolate pastries.

"Oh. That _is_ a very good excuse."

Kakashi sat on the bench beside her, somehow managing to devour half a pastry in one bite. Sakura licked stray chocolate from the corner of her mouth and took in his attire. Black pants. Grey shirt.

"Ne, Kakashi? Have you ever considered wearing shorts?"

The image itself was somehow hilarious in her mind, and the bug eyed stare she received in return only added to the comedic effect. She wiggled her legs pointedly.

"I have knobbly knees." Kakashi replied, the last of the pastry disappearing into the black hole he called his mouth.

"That's not true."

Kakashi squinted at her, "have you been staring at my knees during checkups? Sakura, that's very strange of you to do."

Oh no. He wasn't going to make _her_ the weird one here. She was wearing white shorts that showed almost too much thigh, and a tank top with tiny straps and she could feel the sweat beading on her skin under the fabric. Kakashi must be drowning in it. She finished the pastry, sucking the chocolate from the tips of her fingers and savouring every last bite. Most of the stalls were open now, fresh fruit samples on display and assorted spring paraphernalia lined up and begging to be purchased. Her eyes fell on a small game stall, where small clustered of children were excitedly catching small coloured balls in paper poi. Sakura grinned devilishly and pointed.

"How about a game then, ne? If I can catch more of the coloured balls than you, you need to wear..." she scanned the stalls and jabbed a finger, "That. I'll even buy it for you."

The outfit didn't warrant Kakashi's horrified stare. It was a pair of beige shorts, cut off at the calves, and a grey tank top with a leaf print. Kakashi cleared his throat and scratched the back of his head.

"Well, I hardly see any incentive for me to play if I don't get anything when I win."

Sakura ignored the pointed use of the word _when_ he would win, choosing instead to shrug and gesture wildly, "Be my guest. I'm not worried, I've played that game a million times with Naruto. I'm the master."

Kakashi was smiling under his mask, she could tell. He scanned the stalls slowly and deliberately until she saw his eye light up in pure, unhindered giddiness. She felt her stomach drop as he gestured over her shoulder.

"When I win, you're going to wear _that_."

Sakura choked off her horrified gasp when she saw the outfit hanging off a stall rafter, swaying gently in the breeze. It was... it was... an image flashed before her eyes- her, Gai and Lee standing together in matching green outfits, all winking and flashing the thumbs up. She whirled around and narrowed her eyes at Kakashi, eager to knock that smug smirk off his face.

"You're _on_."

Twenty minutes later, the very harried looking man behind the counter was politely counting the balls the two had captured. The children who had been playing beside them were huddled together, eye wide and whispering among themselves at the intense rivalry and _downright cheating_ they had witnessed. Admittedly, the two of them may have gotten a little overly exuberant while playing. Sakura was wringing out her soaked hair back into the pool while Kakashi plucked absently at his clothing, the slurp of wet cloth against skin making Sakura secretly proud of herself. If he thought she was going to let him get away with 'accidentally' dumping a poi full of water onto her head, he'd had another thing coming. The stall owner turned around, looking almost scared to tell them the results. Sakura and Kakashi held their breath, both leaning in closer and closer until the man offered out the stuffed bear with a trembling hand.

"CHA!"

"You cheated." Kakashi said immediately, making a grab for the bear that Sakura snatched away.

" _You_ cheated," she retorted, "But _I_ still won. So... do you want the beige shorts or that incredibly fetching shade of orange?"

He unsurprisingly decided against the orange, though Sakura still counted it as a win when he emerged from the makeshift change room with his calves on display. Sakura whistled and clapped her hands, "Do a turn!"

"You're my least favorite former student." he deadpanned as he threw his soaked clothing over the clothesline the stall owner had offered him.

Sakura remained unfazed, it was hard to care about the words coming out of Kakashi's mouth when his biceps were on display. His arms and legs were pale and marred with scars, but cut as though from marble. The tank top was cut with a generous scoop neck, showing off his defined collarbones and a deep scar down the centre of his chest. He reached up to separate his clothes on the line and the hem lifted, showing off flat stomach with a trail of silver hair disappearing into the waist of the shorts.

 _Wonder if it's silver all the way down..._

Pull it together, Haruno.

"You look much more comfortable, if it helps," she teased, sliding her hand into his and smiling when she felt his fingers flex against her own before relaxing.

"It doesn't. If we see anyone we know, I'm heading for the nearest rooftop."

"Noted."

They wandered the market with an easy pace, Sakura stopping in at several stalls she liked to frequent, picking up fresh fruits and vegetables to fill her sad kitchen. One woman was selling genuinely terrifying animal figurines, and she and Kakashi spent the better part of an hour searching for the most obnoxiously bright toad to give to Naruto. Kakashi slid his mask down at a dango stall, handing Sakura three skewers and looking smug as the man behind the counter gazed at his retreating back with hearts in his eyes. Kakashi was gaining a lot of attention in his new outfit, and Sakura rolled her eyes at the men and women who approached to flirt outrageously as though she was standing _right there and holding his hand._ Kakashi, naturally, found the entire thing hilarious, dragging Sakura away when one woman was so brazen as to place her hand directly on Kakashi's chest and Sakura was prepared to teach her a lesson about personal space. The end of the market was coming up in the distance, the masses of people beginning to thin out as they came closer to the outskirts of the town centre.

"You know, I don't think I'm quite ready for this date to be over," Sakura admitted, tossing her last stick of dango into a nearby trashcan, "You've grown on me."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow and gestured to one of the sprawling cement benches, indicating that they could always sit and talk. Sakura's brain flashed with a memory of waking up on that same bench, cold and alone in the early night air. Coming home to her harried and concerned parents. Some wounds would always smart, apparently. Instead, she let go of his hand and jumped easily over the hedges lining the town centre, landing in the soft grass on the other side and looking back expectantly. Kakashi, much to her embarrassment, seemed to be aware of why she was adverse to sitting on that particular bench, but followed her nonetheless. They ambled under the trees, Sakura tipping her face up into the sunshine whenever she had the chance. Kakashi was the first to broach conversation, unsubtly clearing his throat and diving right in.

"So. Why is it you aren't taking on a medic nin student?"

Sakura rolled her eyes, "That's what you want to talk about?"

"Why not? I was in Tsunade's office the other day and I noticed she had a stack of files for potential student candidates. You're more than ready. What's holding you back?"

Sakura closed her eyes, the image of Sasuke- sick and dying on the couch beside her while she couldn't do anything to help him- was burned into her brain.

"It's stupid," she insisted with a shake of her head, "And not appropriate second date talk."

"Sakura, we're shinobi. Most of the things we do aren't _any_ date appropriate talk. Unless you'd like to spend most of our dates in silence, we might as well discuss work related things. Though there is a lot of things you can do without talking..."

Sakura gave his arm a playful punch, but was met with raised eyebrows, "I _was_ referring to reading, Sakura. But if you've got any ideas, feel free to share them."

She blushed, but decided against elaborating on what she had thought he meant. Instead, she turned their meandering direction towards the training grounds and away from the market; the sound of the milling crowd becoming another background noise to mingle with birdsong and the rustle of leaves. Kakashi didn't push her to speak, but as they passed by their old genin training grounds, Sakura sighed.

"I thought maybe I could cure Sasuke," she admitted, "I was working on something just before he died- purely hypothetical and honestly the likelihood of it working was so slim. So many ifs and buts, a lot of things that have never been tested on humans before...but then he was gone. I couldn't bring myself to throw all my research away though, so I just left it there. It's stupid though... it's not like there's going to be any more Uchiha who need saving, right? But Tsunade-sama was impressed with the work I'd done, she said it showed her that I could probably take on a student. She keeps pushing for it, sayign I made so much progress in such little time- I even found ways to help prevent _other_ diseases while I was trying to help Sasuke- she said she was going to start looking for candidates. But I'm really just... not ready for that."

Kakashi was quiet, but now the comfortable air between them tingled with something else. Kakashi was looking everywhere but right at her, a coil in his shoulders. Was he upset she had mentioned Sasuke? She had hoped by now, with all of her other achievements, that she had shed the image of "the girl who loved Sasuke", but there was never any telling. She quelled the desire to raise her hackles and defend herself, knowing that Kakashi of all people - _especially_ now – wouldn't see her in such a way. He had stopped walking, the leaves from the towering tree above them throwing light and shadows to dance across his face.

"Sakura... I don't want to lie to you."

She frowned, taking one slow step closer to him and softening her tone, "You don't need to, Kakashi. What is it?"

"It's about Sasuke. I... I need to tell you something. Something you need to know."

KONOHAGAKURE- LAST YEAR- ONE WEEK AFTER UCHIHA SASUKE WAS CLEARED OF ALL CHARGES

"Sakura? Come here, I'd like a consult."

Sakura finished signing off on her patient file and slipped it back into place at the foot of the bed before quietly excusing herself. The shinobi looked relieved that the poking and prodding had seemingly ended, though the scowl etched on his face suggested he was less than impressed with Sakura's decision not to discharge him. She hurried after Tsunade, who hadn't waited for her and was already striding down the halls to an examination room. When Sakura closed the door behind her, she frowned.

"Shishou? Where's the patient?"

It wasn't unusual for Tsunade to ask for a second opinion. It had been one of the lessons Sakura had learned during her training. Unless you were on the field or it was life or death, a second set of eyes could be crucial. When holding people's lives in the palm of your hand, being prideful wasn't an option. There was, however, no patient on the exam table; only the crumpled indent of where someone had sat. Tsunade handed Sakura a file, thinner than anything she had seen before. There was no patient name or file number; no age, sex or defining features on the paperwork. Only a clustered list of symptoms, various x-rays and blood work details, and Tsunade's scrawled handwriting.

"What do you make of this?"

Sakura held one of the x-rays to the light and frowned, "I would say double pneumonia, but..."

"But?" Tsunade prompted when Sakura had trailed off and begun sifting through the files.

"But there's something not right about the lungs. And the placement of the clouding. This blood work, is it recent?"

Tsunade nodded, "I took it today. As well as the chakra levels."

Sakura flicked to the page and her eyebrows shot up, "Shishou, these numbers are terrible. I've seen better counts from shinobi who've been dragged in here half dead. Combined with the x-ray and the blood work, this person is incredibly ill. I can't say I've seen anything present like this before," she admitted, "these symptoms don't seem to have any specific tie or origin. Has there been any evidence of contagion?"

"No. I'm certain nobody else in the village is at risk other than this patient. They have been experiencing symptoms for approximately the last four to six months."

Sakura gaped, looking between the file and her mentor, "Tsunade-sama, this is clearly an advanced disease, and the symptoms would have rapidly become obvious and incredibly painful. Why didn't they come to you any sooner?"

"A number of reasons, Sakura, I assure you. I'm more curious about your diagnosis for the patient."

Sakura looked over the information she had been given, taking it all in. Tsunade was silent beside her, providing no pressure but also no assistance. Sakura finally clicked her tongue and set the files down on the table.

"Without knowing their medical history or age and occupation, my first assessment would be treatment for the lung condition. If the patient isn't getting enough oxygen, we'll have a bigger problem. Their chakra pathways seem to be experiencing some kind of warp, so chakra transfusions aren't an option until we can clear the blockage. Liver and kidney function is... sub optimal. Dialysis would be a good place to start there. And blood transfusions might help keep their energy levels up while we progress through, there would need to be a lot of tests before we make any concrete decisions. It looks like the beginning of multiple organ failure, but the chakra component doesn't usually correlate with that. It's possible the patient contracted two or three separate diseases at the one time, but highly unlikely. Obviously this patient is or was a shinobi, and from this village."

"And how can you be certain of that?" Tsunade asked.

Sakura pointed to the x-ray of the rib cage, "Up until you took over as Hokage, Konoha still forced all Academy students becoming genin to experience a kunai wound.. I've seen this on most shinobi from the village, the kunai is inserted in a way that leaves a mark on the rib cage, even after the medics heal the damage to the muscle. It was a ridiculous requirement, the Yondaime was trying to have it removed, but he died before he had the chance. It's a quick and dirty way to find out if someone is a Konoha shinobi or not though."

Tsunade nodded, arms folded across her chest, "I knew that was what the Yondaime wanted, I made it one of my first orders of business as Hokage to revoke it. Stabbing perfectly good Academy students just because they should _know what it feels like._ Barbaric. Danzo and the other Elders made it incredibly difficult to take that particular rule out of the village- we never did start out on good terms. Is there anything else you can note about the file?"

Sakura flicked the pages a few times and shrugged, "It seems as though the only organ not currently experiencing any damage is the eyes, maybe that's our key to finding a cure. Do you know what this is, shishou? It's nothing I've ever even heard of, let alone seen."

Tsunade reached for the file, tucking it under her arm, "Yes and no. There have been cases of this before."

Previous cases was a good thing, but in this situation it wasn't, based on Tsunade's tone. Sakura chewed the inside of her lip, waiting for more information that Tsunade didn't freely provide. When she couldn't take the silence, Sakura huffed.

"And?"

"And everyone who has ever contracted this disease or could tell us anything about it is dead." Tsunade continued bluntly, "Which is why I would like you and Shizune to begin working on possible treatments. Even if they are only a temporary stop gap, I'd like to be able to give the patient some peace of mind. You'll be provided with all of the current records I have from the patient visits, as well as the files of the previous victims. It will, for the time being, have to remain anonymous."

Sakura hesitated and swallowed hard, "Tsunade-sama, Jiraiya-san isn't-"

"No." Tsunade assured her, a sadness on her features that made Sakura's gut wrench. Someone in the village was dying of an illness Sakura had no words to describe other than horrific. She thought back on the file, itching to get her hands on it again to pour over every detail. The last case she had worked on that was shrouded in such secrecy it had been a Kage who had fallen ill, but Tsunade seemed her regular level of health, and there had been no high profile visitors through the gates in months.

"I'm supposed to meet Naruto, Kakashi and Sai. Naruto wanted to celebrate Sasuke's freedom, but I'll cancel and work on this over lunch instead-"

"No... go enjoy your lunch with your team. This will still be here when you get back."

Sakura hesitated, "Shishou, this person is clearly incredibly ill. Everyone can wait, really."

Tsunade gave Sakura a gentle push in her low back, herding her towards the exit and pulling the white coat from Sakura's shoulders with an easy tug.

"Have lunch, Sakura. Trust me."

Sakura thought about the case until she reached the small home where Sasuke was living, now adorned with several potted plants on the creaky porch that Sakura had seen Sasuke roll his eyes at but had watered them just the same. She was the last to arrive, finding the three boys already spilling their lunch mess over the kitchen counter. Sasuke rose to set a plate in the empty space when she came through the door, filling a tall glass of water and placing it beside her hand before she could ask. He wasn't making eye contact, but she suspected it was due to her testimony at his trial. She had said things she knew must have stabbed deep into his chest, and likely felt like betrayal. But he was free now. She was sure, with a little time, he could find a way to forgive her.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto cheered, sloshing ramen broth out of his bowl and onto the table. Sai was picking all of the vegetables from his teriyaki bowl, eating carefully around the meat to savor it for last. Kakashi's face was shrouded behind his book, his chopsticks moving from the bowl and up under the cover to his mouth. His eye met hers for the briefest moment and crinkled in the corner, but his mile was gone in the next breath. Sakura slumped into the chair and began piling her plate with the various assortments of foods that had been ordered, absently reaching over to Kakashi's plate to eat his tomatoes, abandoned to the wayside. Naruto was regaling Sai with tales of Team 7 past; filled with grand over exaggeration, a distinct lack of the true danger they were all in, and the stupidity of their childhood selves.

"So not much different for you then, Naruto?" Sai replied, deadpan but with a curling smirk that returned the barest twitch of Sasuke's lips. Sakura heard Kakashi mumble something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like 'so much for lunch' before Naruto had launched himself over the table at Sai and the two were wrestling on the ground.

Sakura shrugged one shoulder and pulled Sai's unfinished teriyaki to her plate, stuffing it into her cheeks before he could notice it was gone.

These boys. They really were something.

* * *

 **A/N-** **Thank you to everyone who took the time to review/kudos/favourite my story! I'm so happy to see people are enjoying it. I've had a few questions come up in messages that I thought I'd just answer here really quick.**

 **1) Why is (character) alive in your story?**

I wish I had a reason other than "because I wanted them to be", but I don't.

 **2) Do I watch Boruto/What do I think of Boruto?**

Boruto is a plague on our household. It burned our crops and salted the earth. Fuck that show. None of that is MY canon.

 **3) Where is this story even going?**

Ahhhhhh... it's going somewhere. I swear.

 **xo**


	27. Chapter 27

**KONOHAGAKURE- LAST YEAR- THE DAY SASUKE DIED**

* * *

"Don't tell them."

Kakashi looked over at Sasuke, whose head was tipped back in the sunshine as though he wasn't about to die at his own sensei's hand. His skin looked worse with the warm glow on it, illuminating the bright blue veins that crossed his face and casting shadows off the sharp and unsettling jut of his bones. Kakashi's hands had itched towards his kunai more than once, only to stop before he could even bring himself to grasp it.

"Why not?"

He hadn't been planning on it anyway, but if he could keep stalling, he would coax Sasuke to talk all day.

"They won't understand right away. Maybe one day they will, but not at first. I don't want them to hurt more than they already will. I'm sure you'll know the right time to tell them."

Kakashi finally summoned the courage to let his fingers brush the cold steel of his weapon, pulling it out the barest fraction and watching the sunlight glint off the blade. He slipped it away. He wasn't ready yet. Sasuke's eyes were closed, the wheeze of his breath reminding Kakashi every second that this would be mercy. That Sasuke had so many choices taken from him in his life, it was the least he could do to give him this one thing.

"Be sure to take care of Naruto. Sakura sees death every day, it will be easy for her to forget me. Naruto will struggle... make sure he doesn't do anything stupider than usual."

Kakashi's lips quirked sadly. He doubted it would be as easy for Sakura as Sasuke was assuming, even if he no longer had a grip on her heart. She was a medic- she would mourn him as she did for everyone she lost. Kakashi caught the hilt of his kunai again, this time pulling the full blade into view and catching his own reflection.

 _Friend Killer_

Kakashi clenched his hand, feeling the bite of the sharpened edge cut into his palm. Sasuke's wheeze developed a wet rattle, which turned into a hacking cough, spraying blood down his chin and onto the grass. Kakashi reached out, hand sliding onto Sasuke's back and bringing himself closer.

"I'm so sorry, Sasuke," he whispered, feeling the weight in his hand as he brought it up, out of sight as Sasuke's wet coughs bubbled blood and spittle into the corners of his mouth. The blade flashed in the sun, and Kakashi bit back his own whimper as he felt it puncture through skin, muscle, and bone. Sasuke's coughing turned into a shocked, wet gasp and Kakashi forced himself to meet Sasuke's eyes; expecting betrayal, sadness, or anger. Instead, he watched Sasuke's bloodied mouth curl into a soft smile as the tightness in the corner of his eyes softened.

"Thank you..."

Kakashi tilted the kunai with a perfected aim, watching as Sasuke's eyes dulled and his body fell limp into his childhood sensei's arms. His blood was slick on Kakashi's hands, oozing into the ground around them as Kakashi dropped gently to his knees, still cradling Sasuke carefully.

 _This was kindness._

 _This was mercy._

Kakashi stayed there for a long time, until the midday sun was warm on his neck and the blood was itching where it was darkening as it dried. Sasuke looked, for the first time... peaceful.

"He asked me to." he said, seeing the sandals come into his view but not taking his eyes off the corpse.

Tsunade knelt beside them, forcing Kakashi took look at her. He must have been crying, he realized when his eyes stung in the light and Tsunade thumbed away the droplets of tears. He had expected disappointment, perhaps even anger from her. Instead, he watched her hands move carefully cross the chest wound, the flesh slowly but surely knitting back together as though it had never been there.

"We'll tell them he died from the sickness," she said quietly, the rest of her words nothing but a crackle of static in his ears as she continued to work. He felt a dampness on his hands as she cleaned them, wiping away the remains of his handiwork. She offered out the kunai, solemnly holding it in an open palm. He took it. He would need to remember this day.

"Naruto was his next of kin. It's technically my duty to inform him as soon as it happens. I'll have his body taken to the cells-" she saw Kakashi's neck snap up in horror and she amended, "It will be safer for him there. There are a lot of people in this village who would still want a piece of him. I'll need to confer with the Elders but I promise, Kakashi. He'll be given a proper burial. Can you... do you think you could tell Sakura?"

Where had the sun gone?

Kakashi looked up, seeing the haze of grey that was rolling in from the distance, bringing with it the soft scent of a promised shower. Tsunade's voice was in this distance, muffled and not making sense. He should tell Sakura. He owed it to her, really.

"... it's fine, I'll send someone to-"

"No. I can do it."

"Hatake you're in no shape-"

He was already on his feet, watching the earth soak up the blood that had pooled under Sasuke's body. He would tell Sakura. Sasuke would want him to.

It was the least he could do right now.

* * *

How long had it been since Sakura spoke? As soon as he had mentioned Sasuke's name he had seen her brow crease even further. He'd had a chance to lie, to deflect the question. He could have told her about the body being stolen, act as though that had been his intention all along. But somewhere in the back of his mind, he remembered what Sasuke had said. That Kakashi would know the right moment to tell them. He wanted – more than anything – he realized with an uncomfortable jolt, for this to _work._ To spend his days making Sakura laugh and smile.

He couldn't do that if their budding relationship was being grown in tainted soil.

So he had told her.

And she hadn't spoken in a long time. He wanted to reach out and hold her, perhaps even drop down to his knees and beg for her forgiveness. Instead, he watched the small birds flit from tree branch to tree branch, shaking loose sakura blossoms to drift aimlessly to the ground. Sakura's blank face carefully shielded her emotions, protecting them from his prying eyes. He was almost ready to walk away when she finally spoke, though the words from her lips meant nothing.

"Do you remember Aimi?"

Kakashi waited for her to say something else, to provide even a sliver of context to her words. When she said nothing, he sighed.

"From ANBU? Yes, she and I were often placed on squads together. She was an excellent medic, I think I remember the Sandaime pushing for her to work at the hospital, but she preferred active combat. She died in action three years ago."

"No she didn't. I killed her."

Kakashi froze when Sakura's eyes turned on him, not filled with rage as he predicted, but soft and tinted only with sadness. Kakashi bit the inside of his cheek- he remembered hearing about the mission gone wrong, how Aimi had sacrificed herself when things had turned upside down. How her injuries had been too severe to be healed on the field and she would never have made it to Konoha.

"Sakura you can't blame-"

"Her injuries were too severe for field medical, but she would have survived until we reached Konoha. But she was a medic, and she knew by then her limbs would need to be amputated. Her nerve damage would have been too severe to be fully healed. Aimi would have spent the rest of her life in and out of hospital, and she wouldn't have made it more ten more years. She would have survived, yes... but she told me she couldn't live and be in pain forever. So I killed her. Because she served Konoha with every breath she took and she deserved to die the way she wanted to."

It took a long time for him to speak again after that revelation. He hadn't been there when the squad returned, but he had heard from the other members that Sakura had carried Aimi's lifeless body in her arms every step of the journey home- not speaking a word. He didn't know the specifics of the mission, but the phrase "incorrectly ranked" had been thrown around a bit in the snatches of conversation he had overheard. He felt Sakura's hand in his own and he forced himself to look at her, still half expecting a chakra powered slap or a look of betrayal.

"You did the right thing, Kakashi. If- if he'd asked me..." her eyes brimmed with tears and she shook her head, "I couldn't have done it. Not even for him. You gave him peace, Kakashi. I don't know if I can ever thank you enough for that."

 _She's not mad. She forgives you._

 _You don't deserve her for how good she is._

Her hands were on his cheeks, cradling his masked jaw as she stepped close, cheeks shining with damp tears.

"I'm sorry you had to carry this with you for so long. I wish I could tell you that Sasuke was wrong for asking you not to tell us right way, but I think if you had- I would have reacted differently. I would have been angry- mostly with him, but probably a little with you. Now... now I understand. He always was too smart for his own good."

Kakashi was inclined to agree with that one. For all his faults, Sasuke had a way of understanding people when he could tamp his ego down enough to pay attention.

"There's... more," Kakashi admitted softly, the image of the empty coffin still burned into the back of his eyelids to haunt him every time he closed his eyes for a split second too long. Sakura let her hands drop from his cheeks and he resisted the urge to catch them and bring them back, the air on his face suddenly too cold without the warmth of her touch.

"Among Danzo's personal items, Tsunade found one of your hair ties. I recognized it as the one you gave to Sasuke that day at his funeral. We dug up the coffin, and-"

He couldn't say it. But he didn't have to. He knew she understood by the way the tenderness of her face hardened into something sharp and deadly.

"Danzo." she said, a lilt of a snarl in her tone.

 _I'm really bad at dates,_ he thought miserably. Maybe 'I killed your teammate' and 'his grave was robbed by a psychopath' was too much for one date. But if he didn't tell her now- how much longer would he allow himself to put it off? How much longer until she heard it from Tsunade and his name was brought up and Sakura couldn't bring herself to look into his eyes. It startled him to admit it, but the thought of Sakura not forgiving him wracked his gut with a terror he hadn't experienced in a long time. Her jaw was set, fists clenched so hard he could see crescent moons of blood smearing on her palms. He saw her arm twitch and he prepared himself for the punch that didn't come, only the explosive creak of a tree trunk being shredded followed by a scream that prickled the hair of his arms and sent birds scattering for their lives. Sakura lowered her fist.

"Sorry... that was just... a lot of information. Where-" her voice caught in her throat for a moment, "Do you know where he is now? What Danzo wanted with his body?"

Kakashi shook his head morosely, "We have a lead. Sort of."

He explained the situation as best he could, wondering idly if Tsunade was going to have his balls for technically breaching confidentiality. But Sakura deserved to know. He had been her teammate too. When he was finished, Sakura was pinching the bridge of her nose, two fingers pushed deep into the corners of her eyes as thought trying to ward away the aura of a migraine.

"Sakura?" he broached quietly, seeing a sudden tremble in her shoulders. She was crying- his brain flashed back to the day he had told her about Sasuke's death. To the day he had escaped the civilian clinic and come to her, only for the raw wounds of Sasuke's death to be split open. It seemed like years ago now, so much of their dynamic had shifted since that night. But Pakkun wasn't there to save his ass this time. He reached out to hold her, to try and offer anything he could in the way of comfort.

She snorted.

Kakashi frowned, the overhanging dread disappearing slightly when he realized there weren't any tears streaking down her face.

"Are you laughing, Sakura?"

Her hands slipped from her eyes and she snorted again, doubling over with her shoulders shaking and a red flush on her cheeks from trying to suppress the giggles.

"I'm sorry, Kakashi," she wheezed, "But how- _how_ does it always end up being _our team_ that these things happen to? The misranked missions; curse seals; giant targets painted on our backs with flashing lights that scream _come and get us!_ How did we get so unlucky? _"_

 _At least she's not crying,_ Kakashi reasoned. Her response wasn't unheard of, he himself had dissolved into a fit of hysterical laughter mid-mission when he'd been surrounded by the remains of his teammates without a scratch on himself. He hesitated before he touched her lower back, pulling her in for a hug that she easily returned. The mood of their date now considerably dampened, Kakashi pulled back and cleared his throat.

"So, ah, is this the worst date you've ever been on?"

"Oh no, I've been on way worse."

That... somehow didn't bring him any comfort. He looked around, noticing some nosy shinobi and civilians peering over at them, clearly wondering what was going on to cause Sakura to suddenly demolish a tree. He slid his hand into hers, a smile touching at his cheeks when he felt her entwine their fingers and offer a gentle squeeze.

"At least now we know each other's secrets. No need for any nasty surprised down the road, ne?" he joked.

Sakura laughed "Ah, Kakashi. You're smart enough to know that you don't know anywhere close to all my secrets," she teased, lightening the mood between them with a flash of a smile.

Kakashi guided her to the rocks dotting the training ground, eager to get away from the prying eyes. Kakashi relaxed against the trunk of a tree that was perfectly curved to the rock he sat atop, thanks to some quality work from Yamato. Years of abuse on the boulders that had once surrounded the grounds had given them sloped edges, some smooth and others jagged; mazes of cracks creeping their way over the stone. He expected Sakura to sit across from him, having to swallow his surprise when she lifted his arm and curled comfortably up against him, head nestled on his shoulder.

"Since we can probably forego all he usual date chatter, let's get right down to business. Tell me a happy secret. Something nobody else knows." she teased, almost mimicking the words he had spoken to her the night before.

"I thought you were the one with the secrets, Sakura." he said, hesitating before he ran his thumb down the length of her bare arm, smiling to himself when he watched the hair prickle under his touch. She kicked off her shoes, letting them disappear into the tall grass with a soft rustle.

"Mmm... okay, I've got one. Do you remember that time when we were on a mission and someone stole that last stick of ungai you'd been saving since the day before? And Naruto and Sai both denied it and were fighting each other so much that you made them both scouts for the rest of the mission? I ate the unagi."

"What."

He had coveted that last stick of unagi, he'd almost had to come to blows with a woman in line who had loudly complained that one person shouldn't be allowed to clear out the stall before anyone else had a chance. He'd spent the entire day thinking about it before they'd been attacked, and then when he'd gone to retrieve it, it had been missing.

Sakura shrugged one shoulder, bringing her bare legs up to throw over his, "I'd used so much of my chakra when we came across those bandits, I needed something other than a solider pill. I did pay for the team dinner when we got back to the village though, I felt guilty about it."

He'd been so sure it had been Naruto. Sure enough to suggest to Tsunade that Naruto would benefit from observing her daily paperwork routine. He'd spent a week in the Hokage Tower watching her file reports before he'd threatened to throw himself out the window if she didn't send him on a mission.

Maybe he would make an apology...

Nah. It'd be fine.

Sakura poked his calf with her toes- painted a bright turquoise blue- he noted absently, "It's your turn."

Kakashi wasn't exactly lacking in secrets, given his profession and history. But there had already been so much sadness today. A happy secret, she had requested. He could do that.

"I once put a dead fish in Genma's mission pack because he accidentally cut a chunk of my hair off with a badly aimed kunai. He still has no idea it was me, he thinks it jumped into his pack when we were by the riverbank and he felt really bad about it."

They traded 'secrets' for the better part of an hour, ranging from various pranks they had gotten away with to more serious, but still lighthearted content. Sakura admitted that Tora's disappearance may or may not have been related to the sudden appearance of a similar but several pounds lighter cat that now lived a lazy life in the civilian district; which now only brought a smile to Kakashi's face. At least Team 7 had been able to agree on something back in their days, and lord knows that cat deserved a much better life than being chased after by genin. Sakura was quiet, the silence between them filled with the chirping of bird song and the hum and crackle of wildlife. A beetle was ambling up the side of the rock beside Kakashi's hand, not quite having enough grip to make it to the top. Kakashi caught it on the tip of his finger and set it on the flat surface, smiling as it immediately scurried towards the tree. He caught Sakura watching him and he felt warmth creep onto his cheeks.

"It's your turn," he reminded her, hoping to deflect the way she was looking at him. He liked helping wildlife. They were trying their best. His last secretive tidbit had been a shamefaced admittance that in his rebellious days he had stolen a pastry from a local store, and now as an adult he always tucked an extra few ryo somewhere in the store when he had the chance. Sakura had laughed at that, her face curling into the crook of his neck to try and hide the clear grin spreading across her face. Now, she was staring up at him, bright eyes watching with the intensity she normally reserved for a mission. He was being sized up. He could feel it.

"I know Naruto's father was the Yondaime."

Kakashi sighed, Sakura's scrutinizing stare now fitting into place. She had to know that he was already well aware of Naruto's parentage, but she wanted to see if he would admit it. He personally felt the secrecy of the issue was ridiculous at this point, but the Sandaime had been clear in his instructions. Then again, so had the Yondaime before his death. And Naruto had never been given the dignity of the heroic childhood his father had wanted. Kakashi pressed his thumb to Sakura's pulse, feeling it jump under his touch.

"How long?"

"A few years," she said offhandedly, "When Gaara was brought to Konoha after that attempted poisoning, I dug around in the failed assassinations of previous Kage. It mentioned an attempt on the Yondaime's life not long after he was brought into power. They also attacked his wife- Uzumaki Kushina. It wasn't hard to figure out, and I assume almost everyone in the village knows about it. I haven't told Naruto, if that's what you're worried about. Tsunade-sama said it's a 'delicate situation'."

Kakashi lifted a lazy hand and made a noncommittal grunt, hoping it displayed his feelings of "I disagree but I'm not the Hokage so what can you do" without him having to vocalize them. Sakura, thankfully, didn't try and continue that particular line of inquiry. Their trading of secrets petered out, disappearing into the stillness of the afternoon that settled around them. In the distance, a group of genin were practising hand signs and various jutsu, sending occasional balls of fire and mini waves to crash across the grounds.

"I could fall asleep right here," Sakura mused, stifling a yawn with the back of her hand, "You're so comfortable."

He had to agree with her. The warm sun on his skin- his _bare_ skin, he noted grumpily, was filling him with a pleasant laziness. Sakura's weight on his shoulder; the tickle of her hair in the crook of his neck; the distant bustle of the village. It was all begging him to close his eyes and spend the rest of the day being utterly useless. The thought of being able to nap with Sakura was also something he almost couldn't pass up. On cue, another yawn cracked at Sakura's jaw and he laughed quietly, gently tugging on the fabric of her shirt to coax her lower against the base of the tree.

"Maybe just a half hour?" he reasoned, already manoeuvring around to make sure the sun was well out of their eyes. Sakura looked ready to protest about napping in public, but Kakashi was already closing his eyes and shushing her. He could almost hear her rolling her eyes, but when he felt her weight return to his shoulder and an arm drape lazily over his chest, he didn't even try to hide his smirk.

It almost made the shorts worth it.

* * *

"I won't talk to you."

Ibiki blinked.

"I don't think you're in any position to make orders here. The Hokage didn't kill you, but that doesn't mean she won't. You should be thankful she told me to keep this all above board for now, it means you get the chance to talk without me forcing you to."

Tsunade had dumped the unconscious body onto the floor of his interrogation room with a brusque "he is willing to talk now" before she'd swept out without any other information. It had taken a lightning jutsu to the ass cheek to wake the kid up; and he looked considerably less stoic than the last time Ibiki had seen him. The wall of bravado was down, exposing a trembling and terrified boy that, if Ibiki hadn't seen that exact trick dozens of times before, he might even believe.

"I want to talk to the pink haired girl. Sakura Haruno."

Ibiki smirked, "I thought you didn't know her. Isn't that what you said in the last interrogation. Before you started uttering that ridiculous mantra Danzo had you all chanting."

The boy's eyes darted from Ibiki to the cell door, to the chakra cuffs around his wrist. He licked his lips.

"I lied. I was afraid. Please, I'll talk but I want to talk to her."

"Why?"

"Shimura-sama spoke highly of her. He said if he thought for a second she would join him, he would have asked her a long time ago. I want to know what's so special about her. I have questions for her."

Ibiki outright smiled at that, baring his teeth and laughing. At least Danzo seemed to have some wits about him; if he'd ever even suggested to Sakura that she should join ROOT he would have had a foot up his ass faster than he could blink. Still, of anyone Ibiki would trust alone in a cell with this kid, it would be Sakura. For all her strengths, she was unassuming and often underestimated to the extreme. He'd spent weeks trying to crack men only for them to spill their guts with a few hours under her interrogation. Haruno loved getting under the skin of shinobi whose pride always got the better of them. He leaned in, lowering his voice to a conspiratorial whisper.

"Just so you know- if you don't give us anything useful, you'll be dead before the sun sets."

Something dark flickered behind the innocence of the boys eyes before the stoic mask that had begun to creep up fell again, making Ibiki cock an eyebrow. The prisoner met his gaze, holding it steady as he began to speak.

"I know you think I'm nothing, and you have every reason to. But I swear I will do whatever I can to make it right with the village and the Hokage herself. I just need to speak with Haruno Sakura. I will do _anything_ you want if you just let me talk with her for five minutes."

Ibiki left without saying anything, letting the door slam shut behind him. Tsunade was sharpening a kunai where she sat in the corner, the scrape of metal on metal seeming to soothe her. She slid her thumb along the blade and Ibiki watched the skin split and weep before it fizzled away in a glow of green.

"He wants-"

"To speak to Sakura. I know. Given Danzo's strange obsession with her, it might do us some good to let her see him."

Tsunade gestured the kunai in the direction of the grate on the wall and shrugged, rising from the chair and stabbing the kunai into the wooden arm rests, "I'll bring her. Until I get back, nobody goes in there. I want your men exploring all the leads the ROOT members gave us during the first interrogation, no matter how insignificant. But nobody leaves the village without my say so, do you understand? I've already got ANBU out there and two of my Guard Platoon are missing almost two days of a mission. I can't risk my interrogators. And if you see Inochi, tell him I'm looking for him."

"Of course, Hokage-sama."

Ibiki bowed as Tsunade swept out of sight, disappearing into the dark tunnels branching out from the interrogation room. He waited until the sound of her footsteps had faded before he turned on his heel and headed towards the cells where the nineteen members of ROOT were kept under lock and key and drained of chakra. Thus far, he hadn't had to resort to torture to get them to keep talking.

But there was still time.

* * *

Kakashi grunted softly, wriggling his eyebrow in the hopes of chasing off the fly now buzzing absently by his ear. He was warm. His arm was numb. He hadn't really expected to fall asleep out in the open like this, but he had been so warm and comfortable, the soft bird song and the gentle rise and fall of Sakura's breath against his body must have lulled him into a doze. The warmth on his face disappeared and he grunted. Why wasn't the sun on his face anymore?

"Nice shorts."

His eyes snapped open as he sat up, realizing his mistake as soon as he heard a feminine squeak as Sakura was thrown out of her lazy stupor. Tsunade stood at the base of the rock, arms folded and eyebrow cocked as Kakashi and Sakura composed themselves in the fogginess of the impromptu late afternoon nap. When she seemed satisfied, Tsunade turned her attention on Sakura.

"You're needed."

Sakura shaded her eyes and frowned in confusion, "The hospital shishou?"

Tsunade looked at Kakashi, blinked, and returned her eyes to Sakura.

"No."

Kakashi suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. Tsunade was standing _right in front of him_ and she was still going to keep him out of the loop? Two could play that game.

"Actually, Hokage-sama," he began, ignoring the way Sakura's brows climbed at such a formal address, "Sakura and I need to have a very serious discussion. I'm sure you understand."

"Well, _Hatake-san-"_

Sakura made a sound in that back of her throat that Tsunade chose to ignore.

"-As Hokage, it's critical that I bring _my shinobi_ in when I need them. I'm sure whatever the two of you need to discuss can wait. Can't it Sakura?"

Sakura was looking back and forth between them with narrowed eyes, but nodded before slipping easily off the rock and smoothing the wrinkles in her outfit.

"I'll see you later? We can have that... serious discussion" Sakura said, raising her eyebrows in a way that perfectly conveyed 'you _will_ tell me about this later'. Kakashi smiled and leaned up, pressing a chase kiss to her mouth and feeling the heat rise where his palm was cupping her jaw. Tsunade cleared her throat.

"When you two are finished, Haruno."

"Yes, shishou!" Sakura said, her voice a higher pitch than usual that made Kakashi smile. He was sure if Sakura asked about it he could spin one of his usual tales. 'Serious discussion' wasn't strictly a lie, he supposed. Dinner was a few hours away, and Tsunade was always pushing the importance of a good meal. Kakashi watched the pair head back towards the village, weighing the pros and cons of following at a distance. Ultimately, knowing Tsunade wouldn't be fooled by any of his usual stealth tricks, he decided against it. Maybe he could wheedle something of Sakura when they were finished. He stretched his arms high above his head, feeling the soft fabric of his shirt ruck up across his stomach. There was a slight dapple of pinkening skin across his shins, but the warmth was undeniable. With one final glance at the still-training genin (he winced as an over eager kunai throw soared through the air and narrowly missed taking out an eye), he made his way back in the direction of the market stall where he had left his clothes. At least with the date over he could change back into his standard outfit. As much as Sakura was right about the breeze- not that he would admit it to her for fear of one day finding his closet full of nothing but shorts- he was missing the security and imagery of his shinobi gear. Leaf patterned shirts didn't exactly strike fear into the heart of anyone, no matter who was wearing them. He was greeted by an empty clothesline, and the man behind the stall smiled.

"Your friend collected them for you, Hatake-san! They assured me they would get back into your hand."

A cold sweat broke out on his forehead. The world began to tunnel. His friend. Visions of Anko plastering a photo of him in this outfit played over in his head- Yamato looking like a cat with cream- Gai: please let it not have been Gai.

"You should get your legs out more often. Actually, maybe don't. I'd like to still stand a chance with the women of Konoha."

Kakashi levelled Jiraiya with a glare, which was met only with a smug grin as the man tossed the stack of clothes easily through the air. They were slightly stiff from drying in the hot sun, but at least they were properly dry. Sakura hadn't taken his poi of water to the head very lightly, though her retaliation had been unfairly dramatic. As soon as he had pulled them on he missed the gentle breeze, but there was no way he was going to have whatever this conversation was about to be while wearing shorts and a far too revealing tank top. Jiraiya was propped easily against a wall when Kakashi pulled back the curtain, his eyes darting from woman to woman as they passed him by. Kakashi briefly contemplated making a break for it, but the thought of having to avoid Jiraiya for the foreseeable future didn't seem overly appealing. Instead, Kakashi followed Jiraiya's surreptitious gesturing into an alley behind one of the restaurants.

"Someone is setting Tsunade up."

"I'd gathered as much. But she's not taking my help here, remember?"

It wasn't hard to put all the pieces together. Whoever was causing all of these problems was playing multiple games with them all at once, forcing them to trip over one anothers tails as they were chasing their own. It might have seemed as though Kakashi was the original target, but Tsunade was undoubtedly now at the heart of it. Jiraiya gave Kakashi a flat stare and sighed.

"She's got her own reasons for that, don't bring me into it. You'd forget that she's old enough to be your mother with the way you two bicker. All I'm saying is that Tsunade's been pissing people off since long before she became Hokage, and it's starting to blow up in her face. I'm sorry that your student had to get caught up in it. I hadn't had the chance to talk to you properly since I found out about Sasuke, and I can't just ignore it. Tsunade told me what really happened the day he died. I buried Minato and I thought it was going to kill me, I can't image how you felt. You did a lot for him and I want you to know that I'll do whatever I can to make sure he's given the respect he deserves."

Kakashi nodded, appreciative of the gesture but still tempered with anger. Jiraiya seemed to understand, at least, offering a gentle clap of his hand to Kakashi's shoulder before he left, melting into the crowd the way only a shinobi could. The urge to return home had petered out; the desire to fight- to force all of the chaotic energy in his blood into something else- itching in his palms. He could see the training ground in the distance, free of genin but now peppered with chuunin practicing for exams, taking turns sparring and chattering anxiously about the upcoming missions for jounin qualification. Kakashi pushed up the black band of fabric covering his sharingan eye and smirked.

He could use some practice after his long time off. And Tsunade was always telling the higher ranked shinobi in the village to take time for the younger generation. He'd be more than happy to help them train.

* * *

"Tsunade-shishou-"

"If you ask me about Hatake you're fired."

Sakura shut her mouth, keeping easy pace with Tsunade as they leapt from rooftop to rooftop. They weren't heading to the Tower; instead Sakura could see the densely packed village centre peter out to a few stray business, then several homes nestled in the quiet, before finally they came to what Sakura immediately recognized as the front for the covert interrogation centre. It looked, to the outside observer, like a simple home that had been left to the elements. She had only been here a handful of times, normally this particular building was reserved for high risk interrogations that were still above board. She was yet to set foot in the underground interrogation rooms, where she knew anything that happened there _didn't_ happen. It almost brought her relief that Tsunade hadn't guided her there.

"Shishou..."

"Be quiet. There's ears everywhere."

Sakura obediently closed her mouth again and ducked under the covered awning and into the home. The entrance to the interrogation cells was hidden under the frayed and dust choked rug, a single sliver of floorboards creaking open to reveal a set of weathered stone stairs. Sakura couldn't help but shudder when the concealed opening closed and plunged them into darkness. The passageway was narrow, steep, and seemingly endless as Sakura carefully made her way deep underground, feeling the temperature drop with every step. When it finally levelled out, Sakura could smell the damp, hard packed earth as Tsunade continued forward.

"I had the members of ROOT collected and interrogated; but one in particular requested to speak with you specifically. Apparently Danzo made quite the name for you in his little circle. He insists he has information that could help us, I want you to extract it. However you choose to proceed with the interrogation is up to you: be his friend- be his worst nightmare. I don't care. Just get the information."

Sakura didn't get a chance to ask any more questions before one of the heavily guarded doors was unlocked and opened, revealing the tiny room inside. Tsunade placed a firm hand on Sakura's shoulder.

"When you're finished, I'll have something else to show you."

The interrogation room was cramped and unpleasant, only illuminated by a dirty bulb in the ceiling. Sakura could see specks of dried blood among the dirt; deep gouges in the cement walls and cracks that ran like rivers through the floor. The heavy steel table in the centre of the room was flanked by two chairs- she lowered herself into one and smiled. She'd hoped that Tsunade would provide her with something to wear, she didn't feel particularly threatening in her current spring attire. It looked like she was going to go with 'friendly and innocent' as her method of interrogation; she doubted her bitch face would hold as much weight when her shirt had embroidered daisies on the hem.

"Hello, I'm Sakura. Tsunade-sama says you want to speak to me about Danzo. Will you tell me your name?"

The boy shook his head and looked at the door; the walls; his own dirty hands before he finally made eye contact. The sheer terror and confusion in his eyes made Sakura's chest ache, but she reminded herself to keep firm. She had encountered mass murders younger than herself; charming shinobi whose smiles could make Kakashi weep who had killed children by the hundreds. She had no idea yet of what this boy was capable of. He had been a ROOT member, she had no idea what this boy had done.

 _You have no idea what he was forced to do either,_ she thought sadly.

"Okay," Sakura said quietly, folding her arms and leaning back in the chair, "Well why don't you start with how you ended up with Danzo? You aren't from Konoha, or at least we don't seem to have any records of you. And you're quite young. How did you get here?"

The boy fidgeted in his chakra chains and didn't speak for a long time. Sakura could see him worrying the inside of his mouth until small droplets of blood beaded in the very far corner of his mouth. Whatever information he had assured Ibiki and Tsunade he could provide, she was sure she could wheedle it out of him with enough violence- but she tended to favour the more subtle approach. To her pleasure, he mimicked her casual stance and began to speak, though still made no effort to make eye contact.

"There was an attack in my village. Four years ago. Missing nin came from across the border to raid us for supplies. My parents owned a store. The shinobi killed them."

Sakura nodded, but didn't try and coax anything from him. Instead, she leaned forward, slow and steady and keeping her hands in his field of vision. He stilled when her hand touched his cheek, a shimmer of green healing the split tissue in his mouth. Even with the barest hint of chakra, she could feel the build up of scarred tissue in the area by his lips- years of anxiety induced gnawing until he began to bleed.

"... your ANBU came. They came for the bodies of the shinobi, but they didn't help us. They said other aid was coming and we had to wait for them. You were there."

Sakura nodded again. She had seen so many people that day, she wasn't surprised she didn't remember him. Many of them had been skittish and terrified- understandably so. Her job had been to oversee injuries, catalogue them into order of necessity, and then heal only those who were seriously injured. It had taken days, the missing nin had shown no mercy for anyone in the village. The boy set his jaw, eyes suddenly shining with tears he refused to let drip onto his cheeks.

"My neighbour was an old woman and she took me in. She said the shinobi would return and they would take away the orphans, she had seen it before. She told me if anyone asked, I was her grandson and she would take care of me."

Sakura had read the stories. A black mark in Konoha's history that many were eager to turn a blind eye to was that in wars of the past, many of the orphans were returned to the village and forced to join the Academy. It was, technically, now illegal to do so, but she didn't fault the woman for having her suspicions. The tension in the boy's shoulders was slowly uncoiling, the nervous tick of his shoulder and hands becoming less pronounced.

"She died a few months later. She had no other family so I buried her with mine. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know how to be on my own. And then... and then Shimura-sama came to the village."

Sakura nodded encouragingly, careful not to say anything in case he suddenly changed his mind and returned to silence. He worried at his bottom lip this time, teeth sinking deep into the skin.

"One of my friends had no family after the attack either, he said there was a man in the village looking for orphans, so I went looking for him. Shimura-sama told me he could help. That I could do things to make sure what happened to my village didn't happen again. I told him I didn't want to be a shinobi but he said I would be better than that. He said I could be stronger than anyone else and I believed him. He brought me to Konoha, we came through the underground. He gave me a new name and told me to forget who I used to be, to let go of all my anger and feelings. He told me about you and the Hokage. He said- he said..."

"He said what."

"He said you couldn't die. That you could heal people back from the dead with that seal on your forehead. But that you and her never did it for anyone and you kept it for yourselves. I thought it was unfair."

Sakura's hand twitched at the mention of her seal, but she didn't react any further. Instead, she let anger stew and burn in her gut that Danzo would bastardize what the seal could do. How he had used it to manipulate impressionable people. When she had begun the process, Tsunade had warned her of the seriousness of undertaking the task.

"That's not quite how it works," she admitted softly, "Danzo lied to you."

He smiled bitterly, looking away from her and down to the cracks in the floor, "I know that now. I know a lot of things now. He made me," his voice cracked and Sakura waited for him to collect himself, watching as he squeezed his fists several times before continuing, "he made me kill my friend. Shimura-sama said he wasn't strong enough, that it had been a mistake to bring him to Konoha. That he couldn't be let go into the village in case he told anyone about our secrets. He said if I killed him, I would become ROOT. So I did it. And I didn't feel anything then. Shimura-sama was proud of me. He said I was ready for ROOT. He put the seal on my tongue and then we were sent on a mission. I killed a lot of people. But then... then I started to wonder if I was on the right side."

"When?"

"When the Uchiha returned to the village."

Sakura tilted her head to the side, watching the boy begin to squirm under her stare.

"Why."

"Because... Sasuke Uchiha was a traitor to the village and the Godaime could have had him executed on sight. Instead, she offered him an exchange of information and kept him safe from other villages. Then she allowed him a fair trial. And when he was sick, she did everything in her power to heal him. Shimura-sama had always told me that the Godaime was unfair and couldn't be trusted. But she was kind to Sasuke Uchiha. If she was a terrible woman, why would she go out of her way to be kind to a man she could have left to die? I began to wonder if there was anything else I had been lied to about. But I had nowhere else to go, and if Shimura-sama suspected that my loyalty was compromised there was no way of knowing what he would do to me so I remained silent. I knew Shimura-sama had an interest in the sharingan. I was tasked with observing the Uchiha when he returned, I was to maintain distance and conduct reconnaissance on his mental health and physical state. He had seen the medical records you provided to the Godaime, he wanted to know why the sharingan was still active if he was dying. He said it was unlike anything he had ever seen before."

"Those records were confidential. Where did Danzo gain access to them?"

"He had a contact."

"Who."

"I don't know. We were never allowed to know the identities of anyone he contacted other than our teammates. I know they work for your hospital. They also reported on you. His specific interest in you began shortly before Uchiha Sasuke died. Shimura-san believed you were particularly special."

The thought made Sakura's skin crawl. She knew there were a lot of people in the shinobi world who had taken an interest in her and her abilities, but the thought of Danzo in particular watching her when she wasn't aware left a cold feeling in her gut. Tsunade had already explained that other ROOT members had detailed the surveillance Danzo had instructed they keep on her; loose and not constant, easy for them to keep to the shadows and have her not notice. It bothered her even more to know that there was a spy within the hospital. She considered pressing for more information about it, but decided instead to circle back to something he had mentioned before that had confused her. Tsunade was no doubt listening in on the conversation, she would already be planning to interrogate everyone within the walls of the hospital.

"You said he brought you into Konoha through the underground," Sakura began softly, keeping her voice level and casual, "What did you mean by that?"

As far as she knew, the only 'underground' in Konoha was where they were now, and the 'technically non existent' torture rooms. It would probably have been easy for Danzo to slip several shinobi in under the guise of interrogation, but two pre-teens? Surely someone would have noticed.

"The Uchiha tunnels. The ones that run through the old compound."

 _That_ was information worth his life. She couldn't see or hear it, but she knew that Tsunade would have people mobilizing out to the compound as soon as possible. She gestured for him to continue, listening to him perfectly describe the deep underground tunnels that Danzo had accessed from beyond the Konoha village limits; the camphor tree that marked and perfectly hid the entrance that Danzo had covered the boy's eyes before he opened each time. How the next time he had seen the sun they had been leaving one of the dilapidated homes in the abandoned compound. When he was finished, his voice had developed a hoarse rasp and his hands were shaking against the cuffs biting into his skin. Sakura reached down to her hip and removed the small canteen of water that Tsunade had offered her during their walk here, reaching over to press it against his lips.

"Your information is appreciated. I will be sure to tell the Hokage you were cooperative during the interrogation. I think that is enough for today, if you remember anything else, Ibiki will be here. Unless you would rather only speak with me. Then I'm sure he will send for me."

She hesitated as she tucked the canteen back into her belt, thinking of the breakthroughs they had made in such a small amount of time. Maybe she could push the boundary just a little further.

"Would you tell me your name?"

He looked down at his hands, and Sakura sighed. The chair scraped loudly on the ground as she pulled back and headed for the door, hearing a sharp intake of breath as she reached for the handle.

"He called me Ha."

Sakura looked back and smiled sadly. She had asked Sai once, if he remembered his name from before Danzo had taken it from him. It had been one of the only times she had seen Sai become so serious, and it had taken Sai almost a week to come to her and admit that he remembered very little of who he was before Danzo. That his name, the faces of the people in his life- it was all a blur of nothing. Sakura had never asked anything about his past again.

"What did your okaasan call you?" she asked quietly, watching as the boy's eyes widened at a question he likely hadn't been asked in a long time.

"...she called me Yuuto. After her otousan."

Sakura opened the door to the room, throwing a warm smile over her shoulder before she left.

"Thank you, Yuuto. I'm glad you decided to help us today."

Sakura closed the door behind her, wincing as the heavy outside lock screeched as she pulled it across. Yuuto had already suffered so much at Danzo's hand, she was already trying to figure out if she would be able to convince Tsunade to grant him clemency. He may have turned over information, but there would still be consequences. Tsunade was standing by the mouth of the grate that connected to the interrogation room, obviously having listened to the entire conversation.

"I'm not going to kill him," she stated brusquely, before Sakura could even speak, "But he was still a member of ROOT, Sakura. He'll be put to trial with all the others, it's the fairest thing to do for everyone involved. As soon as he mentioned the tunnels, I sent a shinobi team to investigate. From what I know about the Uchiha compound, there were no tunnels mapped with the official village information, which means they were a secret. When Sasuke traded the Uchiha scrolls for asylum in the village, I made sure I had them all but memorized. Nothing was ever noted, even in their personal records. Whether or not they were put there before or after the massacre will be obvious, but if anyone else knows about them we could have had a major breach in the security of this village for who knows how long. You did good work with him, but you're a little rusty. I'll be cutting back your hospital hours once we've dealt with this and have you on an interrogation rotation."

Sakura considered arguing as Tsunade lead her through the maze of underground tunnels, bypassing dozens of faceless shinobi standing guard at every turn. The next door they came across was flanked by two shinobi on either side, bowing out of the way when Tsunade raised a silent hand to dismiss them. Sakura could hear the slow, steady beep of a heart monitor as the door opened under Tsunade's chakra touch, revealing the man strapped tight to the bed. Sakura's hands went immediately to his chart, flicking through the primary observations that had been made with a grimace. Malnourishment and dehydration were the least of his concerns; his chakra stores were almost completely drained. Having him in a coma right now was the best thing they could be doing for him, even if it did mean they weren't able to question him. She mentioned so to Tsunade, who shrugged.

"Even if he does wake up, I'm not sure he'd going to be much use to us."

Tsunade slipped her fingers against the man's lips, forcing his mouth to loll open. Burned into the back of his tongue, dark and heavy against the pink flesh- was a curse seal.

"All ROOT members who were gagged by Danzo had their seals vanish when he died. Which means whoever did this is still alive, and he can't say anything about them. I have Shizune working on a few things to potentially remove the jutsu, but she has a lot of other things to do at the moment. I'm leaving this one to you for now. Find me a way to get this man to talk, or find me someone who can talk on his behalf. I've had all of the information we have about him and the items we found in the attic delivered to your home, don't let any of it leave your sight. When the Tsuchikage reported him missing, it was stated that he was a civilian. Clearly that was a lie, and I want to know why. If anyone asks, you're working on an old case file as part of your continued training."

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

Tsunade was looking at her intently, one eyebrow cocked and her head tilted expectantly. Sakura ran their conversation over in her head, wondering what she had missed.

"Sakura."

"Tsunade-shishou?"

"Is there anything you want to tell me?"

Sakura's brow furrowed for a moment before her eyes narrowed.

"Dammit, Neji," she breathed. As much as their relationship had been important to her, the longer they were apart the more it shone light on the glaring faults they would have encountered. Neji didn't trust in anyone to take care of themselves, and would easily raise red flags if he thought it was necessary. She explained the situation about the boot print, keeping her tone calm and level at the barrage of questions Tsunade immediately began rattling off. No, she was in no obvious danger; no she'd never been attacked in her home; yes she always had her doors locked; yes she was always on alert of her surroundings; no she didn't know how long someone may have been observing her; yes she was sure this wasn't her own footprint. N _o_ Tsunade-sama, she didn't need a twenty four hour ANBU guard patrol.

"I wont force you to take a guard patrol but I'm adding your home to the list of security rotations in the village. No arguing," she cut Sakura off before she could even speak, "This isn't personal, it's professional. You're the best medic the village has and we've been able to tie you directly to whatever Danzo had planned before his death. It's clear he still has allies in this village, and I won't leave anything up to chance. Report to your hospital duties as usual, and notify me immediately if you notice anything suspicious. And now that we know there's a traitor there," her tone took a dark edge, "Don't mention anything about this to anyone. Keep track of what people ask you and what you tell them. That might explain how Kakashi's medical file disappeared without anyone noticing."

Sakura bowed her head, "Yes, shishou."

Given the seriousness of both their prisoner and their patient, it seemed inappropriate somehow to ask about the clear tension growing between her mentor and her former sensei. Tsunade, however, had spent too much time basking in Sakura's contemplative silence to be fooled.

"Whatever it is about Hatake you want to ask, just ask it."

Sakura cleared her throat and squared her shoulders, hoping her interest would appear as though it was only related to the mission and not for her own personal interest. "Tsunade-sama, you know I wouldn't question your decisions without good reason, but Kakashi is easily one of the best shinobi in this village and to exclude him from the investigation seems... like an unwise choice,"

"I agree. This mission is at a deficit without his abilities and we will need to compromise accordingly. This isn't an issue surrounding his skills, Sakura. It's about something much more important."

She said it so casually that Sakura almost felt as though she was being chastised for thinking that Tsunade hadn't already thought this through. She flushed slightly, but let Tsunade continue. There was a sudden softness in her eyes as she spoke, her hands curling around the cold metal bars of the hospital bed that separated them.

"Sakura, I have the privilege of being able to say that Konoha is home to some of the most skilled shinobi across all of the villages. Of those shinobi, there are a handful of them that I know I can trust with my life. But of those people... if I was ever kidnapped, or in a position where I knew I would die if I wasn't found- I would want Hatake looking for me."

Sakura's brow creased, thinking of how close she _knew_ Jiraiya and Tsunade were. Of how Tsunade's Guard Platoon had been hand picked by her after extensive research and observation. Kakashi was good, she wouldn't dare to try and suggest otherwise-

"You've known him a long time, Sakura. But I've known him a lot longer. I watched him become the man you know today and I can tell you without hesitation that he has scars that some shinobi can never understand. The way he trained your team to put their loved ones and teammates before anything else, that came from somewhere. I've seen what he will do for people he cares about, and he doesn't let anything stop him. I would unquestionably choose him to be the one to save me- every time. Because I know he would do it even if it killed him. Which is why I should have kept him at arms length here, and that was my mistake. If he thought for a moment that there was anything he could do to avenge Sasuke, he would do it, even at the detriment to his own health. He may come off as an aloof pervert with bad time management skills, but I can assure you..." Sakura felt small under the pointed stare Tsunade turned abruptly onto her, "He gives all of his love to the people he cares about."

Sakura flushed. _Love_ wasn't a word she would use to describe anything between them yet. She loved him, of course, the way she fiercely loved her teammates and friends. But _love_ was far off in the distance.

"Stop panicking, I can see the wheels turning in your head from here. It's not a warning, Sakura. Just... something to consider. I'm not keeping him at arm's length because I'm a tyrant with no feelings, I'm doing this because I know the kind of man he is and I won't have him throwing himself into danger when he doesn't need to. Does that answer your question, Sakura?"

Sakura nodded, as much as she wanted to argue. If it were her in charge-

 _It's not,_ she chastised herself mentally, but was unable to ignore the niggling thoughts that continued to creep back into her head as she busied her hands reorganizing the files on the table. She would have Kakashi at least kept up to date on the information at hand, if only to stop him digging for it himself. And Tsunade hadn't strictly told her she _couldn't_ speak about these things to him, though it was definitely implied. She waited to be dismissed, feeling the hairs on the base of her neck prickle as Tsunade's gaze bore into Sakura's turned back.

"And Sakura?"

"Yes, shishou?" she asked innocently.

"When you ignore everything I just said to you and tell Kakashi all of this anyway- just make sure the two of you don't do anything bullheaded."

Sakura gaped at her mentor, cheeks flushed and dozens of excuses and denials forming on her tongue. Tsunade held up her hand to ward them off before they could come and stepped closer. Sakura noticed, with an uncomfortable jolt, that her mentor's eyes were slightly glazed and hollow, ringed with red and shadowed by dark circles.

"I know you're going to, because it's what I would have done. But now I have a village to run, and I can't in good conscience involve him in this when I can't be there to protect him. Back in our day, Jiraiya and I were always getting one another into trouble in situations like this. Drove the Sandaime to tears, the poor bastard."

Sakura suppressed a soft giggle at the image of the Sandaime openly weeping at his disobedient students and felt warmth spread through her chest. Yuuto was right. Tsunade was a good person. And Sakura wouldn't let anyone dare try and suggest otherwise. The soft, unguarded stare on Tsunade's face disappeared, instantly replaced by the sharp eyed Hokage once again.

"Now go. I'll send for you if you're needed."

Sakura was all too happy to make her way out of the tunnel, traipsing alone through the darkness until she reached the top of the staircase and pushed hard against the false floor. The sun had set a long time ago, it seemed. It was easy to lose track of time down there, to forget there was even a world outside of the low ceilings and stifled air. The moon hung high in the sky as she dragged her feet, not sure if she wanted to return home just yet.

 _Kakashi's probably awake,_ her brain supplied helpfully.

Sakura smiled.

She doubted he would mind a late night visit.

* * *

"Two hundred and ninety nine."

Kakashi pushed off the ground with ease, feeling the weight of Bull strain on his back but he pushed further, lowering himself down until his nose was pressed firmly to the pages of _Icha Icha._

"Three hundred."

He flicked the page with his free hand. He could do another hundred. Maybe two. Taking on the chunins in the grounds today had been unsettlingly easy. None of them had a hope of making it to jounin anytime soon. Regardless of the tension between them, he would need to consult Tsunade about the skill sets of their shinobi. Bull shifted in place, his long nails digging into the flesh of Kakashi's bare back.

"Boss, can I go now? The boys and I had plans."

Kakashi paused, hovering in the air mid push up. He could feel the beads of sweat rolling into the dip of his shoulder blades; a few even beading on his forehead. He sighed, tipping easily to the side and letting Bull slide ungracefully to the floor before he scrabbled upright and took off in a poof of smoke. He didn't really want to think about what 'plans; his ninken were taking part in. Once it had ended with Kakashi being called to the Inuzuka household at two in the morning to find them all drooling on the carpet at the feet of a very unimpressed Hana. Kakashi looked back down at his book, absently flicking the pages until he came to one of his favorite scenes. The two main characters- practically dripping with unresolved tension between them since the beginning of the novel. They were fighting in close quarters, their pride taking over their sense as they both struggled to admit that the had feelings for one another while fighting about the dangerous choices they had made. It devolved from a screaming match to a sensual kiss- and then Kakashi had to admit that Jiraiya had absolutely outdone himself over the next several pages. Kakashi had even employed some of the techniques he'd picked up from the ensuing lovemaking- to great effect.

He sensed a flare of chakra outside his window and he was on his feet, reaching for the kunai slipped between his bedframe and the mattress. He paused, finding Sakura with one foot on the floor and the other braced on his windowsill. Her eyes flicked to the kunai and she smiled, embarrassed.

"I startled you."

Kakashi felt a flush creeping up the back of his neck as he tucked the kunai back under the mattress. She was good a masking her chakra; normally it was him who took pleasure in sneaking up behind people. Unless it was Mrs. Kanaka from down the street who once beat him with her umbrella when he materialized behind her while she was buying plums. Sakura was watching him quietly, lurking in the shadow by the window and just... staring.

"Can I do something for you, Sakura?" he asked, reaching for the discarded shirt on his bed. His hand didn't make it to the fabric before Sakura had closed the distance between them and slid her hand around the nape of his neck, pulling his mouth down to hers. This was nothing like the soft, tentative kisses they had shared up until this point. Sakura's hands moved firm around his jaw, drawing him down to her mouth where she met him in another hot, open mouthed kiss. He flailed briefly, caught of guard by the sudden surge of affection, but settled one hand on the flare of her hips to draw her closer and the other curling at the nape of her neck to coax her head backwards. She followed his lead, angling her head so he could return the kiss with the same fervour she had initiated, letting his teeth scrape along her bottom lip until they parted and he pulled his hand from her hair in favour of nudging her back until she hit the wall. Sakura pulled away, her mouth pink and cheeks flushed. Kakashi thumbed a tacky smear of lipgloss from the corner of his mouth and Sakura's eyes followed his every move- lips still parted.

"...you're good at that."

"Thank you."

He wasn't sure how else to respond to the compliment. He didn't think "I've been told that before" would go over very well. Sakura placed her hands flat on his chest, but didn't push him away.

"I didn't come here for that," she insisted softly, "I just... you looked. Good. And ah- I just... wanted to know if you were as good at that as people say you are."

As good as people- he was _definitely_ going to need to ask her about that later. Now, however, he looked down at meet her eyes but found them trained on his lips. He smirked, and watched as her gaze darted away guiltily to make eye contact. After the sudden kiss, he expected some kind of explanation, but instead the somewhat dreamy smile on her face dropped and he found his head spinning at the jumble of words that burst from her mouth.

"I just came from the interrogation centre. Tsunade-sama had the ROOT members brought in by ANBU and anyone who didn't confess to the crimes was up for execution. One of them changed his mind at the last minute but he only wanted to talk to me so I went and I talked to him and Kakashi I just-"

Kakashi reached out and grabbed her now flailing hands, offering a reassuring squeeze before squaring of her shoulders and coaxing her down onto the bed. He sat beside her, surreptitiously shoving random items under his pillows from where they had been scattered on the sheets. He also probably should have made his bed at some point today. Sakura didn't seem to mind, instead burying her face in her hands with a soft sigh.

"Kakashi he was just a _boy_. Danzo lied to him, gave him this fairytale that I could bring people back from the dead somehow. That's not how this works!" she pointed to the seal on her forehead before dropping her face back into her palms, "Apparently Danzo was interested in Sasuke's sharingan because of how strong it was, and-"

She'd really picked up the 'don't stop to breathe' ramble from Naruto, it seemed. She told him everything that had transpired between the last time he had seen her and the moment she had stepped through his window, leaving his head spinning with possibilities. Sakura flopped back onto the bed, sprawling out with her usual amount of grace and picking several long strands of dog hair off the sheet and tossing them to the floor.

"It's just all so much, you know? Whoever is doing all this is smarter than we realized. It's like they're everywhere; always testing us and playing games, like we're just little dolls to them. I've seen a lot of things before, this one just feels so different."

Kakashi had to admit, it hadn't been since the height of the Akatsuki's power that the village had felt so vulnerable. He considered laying down beside her like he had done earlier in the day, but there was a difference between cuddling together on a rock in broad daylight and sharing the intimacy of laying together in bed. Sakura, sensing his predicament, laughed and curled a hand around his bicep and gave a gentle tug.

"You can lay down, Kakashi. We've shared a bed before," she teased lightly, "Don't you remember?"

Oh he remembered. Three years ago. Ten days deep into a mission that was supposed to only take a week. Days from Konoha. No food. No solider pills. Ambushed purely by fluke by a group of missing nin trying to work their way into the favor of Akatsuki. "Shared a bed" was a much nicer way of putting it, considering it had mostly been him cradling Sakura close to his chest in a hared sleeping roll while she slept off the worst of the effects of chakra depletion. They'd shared their one remaining blanket in the pouring rain, pressed tight against the base of a large tree. Kakashi hadn't slept at all that night, one arm around Sakura with the other tightly clutching his kunai.

"That was different," he said. Sakura laughed.

"Maa, I suppose this is a little different."

Kakashi slid a hand under her jaw as he leaned down beside her, "Well for starters, I definitely wasn't thinking about kissing you senseless back then."

Sakura smiled, and something devilish was definitely lurking behind those eyes. She leaned in to him, bringing their mouths together with the barest whisper of pressure. She was the first to deepen it, using her arms on his shoulders to drag herself closer to him and press their bodies together, angling her head just so and grazing her teeth along the swell of his bottom lip. He parted them easily but she was already moving, dragging her hot mouth down his jaw and onto his neck, nipping and kissing and giggling her way to the sharp jut of his collarbone, where she stopped. Her cheeks were flushed dark pink when she finally blinked up at him through her lashes, as though suddenly self conscious.

"I suppose I should go. I have to be at the hospital before sunrise. I just wanted to see you."

The urge to ask her to stay was tempting, especially when he was so sure she would say yes. And when she was looking at him the way she was, eyes constantly flicking down to his lips before coming back to his eye. He eased her grip away from his shoulders before pressing a final, tender kiss to her reddened mouth, not letting her deepen it when he felt her body shift against his own.

"Can I see you tomorrow night?" she asked, voice pitched barely above a whisper, "Ino will be out until late. You could come over."

Was he imaging the lilt in her voice? The seemingly amused curl of her lips?

"I'll be there."

Kakashi ignored the pang of disappointment in his chest when she left, leaving the window open to coax the cool breeze into the suddenly stifling room. Where her lips had touched his jaw and neck tingled, the strong and firm grip of her small hands on his shoulders had made him feel... good. Better than he had in a long time. He looked out the empty window and down to the floor, where _Icha Icha_ still lay open, just pages from his favourite scene. The ninken were out for the night. Sakura was gone. He felt himself stir in his pants and he headed for the widow, dragging the curtains closed to keep the prying eyes of his nosy neighbours away. The bed still smelled of Sakura, the soft lingering scent of something fresh and fruity stained across the sheets.

His hand flattened on his stomach, thumbing at the waistband of his pants before slipping inside to cup his hand loosely. It had been a while; between kidnappings and ambushes and general village mania he hadn't had much time to himself. He was hard with a few long, easy strokes, already knowing that he wouldn't last long. Not with the feeling of Sakura's mouth on him, the scent of her nestled easily around him in his bed as though she belonged there. He thought of that outfit stretched tight across her chest that night at the training ground; her long, pale legs in the tight shorts she had worn today; the curve of her cleavage when she tossed away her shirt during summer training last year, reducing three chunin to nosebleeds. The strokes came faster, tightening around the head of his cock with a twist to his wrist that made him groan out loud and jerk into the circle of his fist. That look in her eye when she asked him over, the possibility of using the wide kitchen counter that was the perfect size to pick her up and sit her on while he brought his mouth down between her legs. He reached his free hand down to cup his balls, his other hand shifting up to focus on the head, wet and shiny with precome. It was going to be almost embarrassing how fast this would be over. He turned his head to bury it in the mattress, teeth gritted tight and his breath coming in sharp gasps.

"fuckfuckfuck-"

He didn't reach the tissues beside his bed in time, too wrecked by his orgasm to bother to try. He lay nestled on the sheets for a long time, catching his breath until he felt his skin began to prickle as his sweat dried in the cool evening air. The tension and anger he had been building up for weeks had bled out of him, leaving only a happy, dazed glow in its wake that filled his chest with warmth. He reached up his hand to the crook of his neck- still lightly sticky with glossy lip prints- and smiled sadly. He was going to see her tomorrow night... it couldn't be a good sign that somehow he already missed her.

* * *

 **A/N: Ahhhhhhh. If you're wondering where the hell I've been, two days after I posted the last chapter, I got engaged :D Even though we've been together seven years, I was taken completely by surprise by the proposal and my partner and arranged time off work so we could sit around and spend some time together and enjoy one another's company. So for the last threeish weeks I've been watching Say Yes To The Dress, eating chocolates and making wildly unrealistic wedding plans while doing exactly ZERO writing. But I'm back now and I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed, you've got no idea how much it made me smile to read them and kick my ass into gear to get back to writing the chapter.**


	28. Chapter 28

Ino was still awake when Sakura finally let her feet drag her home. She had spent almost an hour wandering the village, trying to calm the heat that Kakashi had sent spreading through her veins. As soon as she had disappeared out his window her inner monologue had begun screaming to go back, to shove him down on the bed and just _stop overthinking it._ The gate squeaked as she pushed it open, gravel crunching under her sandals as she headed for the back door and smiled at Mr. Wiggles' face smushed against the window pane.

"Go on then," she cooed, watching as he immediately darted between her legs when the door opened. She heard the patter of bare feet as Ino rounded the corner, wrapped in a shirt Sakura recognized as one of Shikamaru's.

"You're out late."

"Tsunade-sama needed me for some village business," Sakura half lied breezily, not sure if she was ready to get into what had happened afterwards. Ino shrugged one shoulder and pointed out the window behind Sakura's head.

"Does that village business have to do with the fact there's been shinobi peeking over our bushes every two hours since about sundown?"

"Ah... about that..."

Sakura plastered a wide smile on her face and set the kettle on the stovetop. She wasn't going to outright lie to Ino, not if there was a threat of danger in their own home. But she was definitely going to need to tweak the story a little to avoid giving too much information away.

"I found a bootprint in the bushes yesterday, and Tsunade-sama is working on something right now that suggests someone might have eyes on our house. We're safe," she assured Ino, "But you know Tsunade-sama, she just wants to be sure."

"There's a stranger in the village?" Ino asked, brows knitted together in confusion. Sakura winced, knowing she'd explained herself into a corner. With no way out, she sighed.

"No. Tsunade-sama believes the surveillance is coming from inside. A spy. But you can't tell anyone, Ino, you know people will start panicking and we could lose the trail. We're safe here, I promise. All I found was a bootprint, and it could have belonged to anyone. You know people sneak in here all the time to steal my flowers."

Ino huffed, "Yeah, I've noticed. You're going to put the flower shop out of business. My lips are sealed, Sakura. I'll let you know if I see anything weird."

Sakura smiled, knowing it was nothing but a teasing jab. She was thankful that Ino didn't press any further for information, seemingly satisfied with Sakura's explanation. They sat at the table in silence until the sharp whistle of steam began pouring from the goose neck of the kettle, Sakura rising to pour herself a cup of chamomile and lavender tea. Ino waved off the offer, pulling her legs to her chest on the chair and propping her chin on the dip of her knees.

"Do you think Shikamaru would wait for me if I spent two years in Suna?"

"If you asked him to, I'm sure he would. And would he really have to wait? You've seen the trade deal proposals, Suna and Konoha are in talks to start shinobi exchange programs, he could see you every few months if he really wanted. And his genin team keeps him busy these days, it's not like he'd be forced to sit at home staring out the window at the horizon for you."

Ino rolled her eyes and tugged at the sleeves of the shirt, rolling it back so it didn't brush against her knuckles, "I just really want that foreign medic position in Suna. I'd get the chance to work with the Poisons and Antidotes lab and I'd be heading up my own section of the hospital when I was there for treatments. Tsunade-sama wrote me an excellent recommendation, I heard back from Temari when I came back from the mission. They'll have me as early as this summer. And don't think I don't know you had Naruto mention me to the Kazekage."

Sakura smiled innocently over the rim of her mug, but didn't confirm or deny. She knew Ino was the best medic in the village for the position, and that wasn't just because they were friends. Ino excelled in all the areas Suna was looking for help in, and she would be fully dedicated to the cause while she was there. What was the point of having friends in high places if you didn't utilize your connections when it mattered?

"You know," she began softly, "It's okay if Shikamaru means more to you than the position in Suna."

Ino looked up from her knees and frowned, "What do you mean?"

"I know you want the Suna rotation, but there's nothing wrong if you decide to stay for Shikamaru. People look down on kunoichi when they do things for love, like it's some kind of betrayal to their job and their villages, but it really isn't. Make the choice you want to make, not the one you think will upset people less. I've seen how Shikamaru looks at you Ino... he'll wait as long as you need him to."

These were the moments Sakura would always hold in her heart when it came to her friendship with Ino. They'd wasted so many years being 'rivals' and fighting over such petty things. The day they had finally cast away those issues; years ago on a random Tuesday outside a takoyaki stall when Sakura had been a few ryo short of being able to buy lunch and Ino had appeared... that day secretly meant more to her than the moment Tsunade had agreed to take her on as an apprentice. Ino sitting across from her and admitting that she was conflicted between her job and her love made Sakura question her own secrecy.

"Ino?"

"Mmmm?"

"You and Shikamaru were teammates for a long time before you started dating. You were _friends_ for so long..."

The longer Sakura let the silence stretch between them while she stumbled for her words was making Ino's eyebrow climb high on her forehead while a grin began to tick at her lips. She waited patiently for Sakura to keep speaking, but Sakura already knew she was caught.

"Kakashi and I went on some dates," she finally admitted, giving up on trying to talk her way around it. Ino's squeal of excitement was accompanied by an enthusiastic fist pump and feet kicking.

"I knew it! I knew there had to be something! When? How? Tell me everything. Wait-"

Ino rose from the chair and poured herself a cup of tea, throwing the cabinets open to locate a half empty, slightly squished bag of bisuko before returning to the table.

"Okay, _now_ tell me everything."

Sakura smiled at her enthusiasm, but laid out as much as she could. From the day he showed up at the home after breaking out of the clinic- to hours earlier, when she had gone to find him after her 'business' with Tsunade. It was easy to skirt around the more sensitive details pertaining to the ongoings in Konoha, even if it did leave a few gaps here and there. Ino seemed to already know she was out of the loop, but didn't pry. Instead, she gasped and squeaked and ' _yes, Sakura!_ '-ed her at appropriate intervals, making her feel like she was a giddy teen at a sleepover. When she reached the end, Ino frowned and looked up at the clock.

"Wait, you went to his house this late? _Sakura_ ," she mock gasped, placing a hand over her heart like a swooning woman. Sakura smacked it away and threw half a bisuko at her.

"It wasn't like that!" she insisted, "After the thing with Tsunade-sama I wanted to talk to him. But then I went through his window and, well-" she could feel herself blushing and Ino flailed her hands.

"Aaaaaaaaaand?"

"And he was doing pushups and he wasn't wearing a shirt and _Ino he looked so good I just sort of grabbed him and kissed him_."

The last part came out in a hurried whisper, but Ino's keen ears caught it all based on her reaction.

"Oh, I'm so proud of you," she laughed, flicking away the tears gathering in the corners of her eyes, "I'd hit that if I had the chance. What happened after?"

Sakura hesitated before explaining the moment they had shared on the bed, unsure why she felt the need to keep that particular moment between her and Kakashi. Ino smiled and reached out to take Sakura's hand, squeezing reassuringly.

"Hey, you don't need to tell me. I know that look. Whatever it was though- you two were safe right?"

Sakura flushed dark red, "We didn't do anything. But if we- when we do, yes. We will be. I'm a medic, Ino."

Ino squeezed Sakura's hand again before propping her chin into her palm, "I know, but you know I've got to ask. You asked me the same thing when you caught Shikamaru sneaking out that first time. I'm just looking out for you. Though you and Kakashi would make _adorable_ children."

She winked and Sakura couldn't help but laugh. They were medics at heart, and it was hard to shake the safe sex talk when they gave it almost every day. With the topic of sex on the table, however, Sakura fidgeted with her mug and pursed her lips.

"We've only been on two real dates," she said softly, "Would it be too early? If I wanted-"

 _A good hard fuck?_ Her inner self supplied helpfully, the heat from the evening still apparently lurking deep within her brain.

"-sex." Sakura finished.

Ino shook her head right away, "You're both adults, Sakura. As long as you're both on board, there's no wrong time. One date, eight dates- no dates. Whatever. But talk about it first, just make sure you both want the same things. When I was hooking up with that guy from Suna-"

"Bastard," they chorused in unison, making Ino laugh.

"He wanted more than I did from the situation, but I didn't realize it at the time. That's what made it so messy. Talk to Kakashi about it and go from there. What do you want out of this?"

 _I want to hold his hand and have him kiss my forehead and curl up beside him and make him smile because it makes my heart feel so full I can't breathe when he smiles at me and even though we haven't talked about anything yet I can't remember ever feeling this way for someone and I'm scared he doesn't feel the same?_

"I don't know yet,"

"Uh huh. Sure you don't." Ino replied dismissively, but didn't call out the glaringly obvious lie that Sakura had just told. Ino tipped the bag up to her mouth, catching the fall of crumbs that poured out of it and tossing it expertly into the trash can, "Sleep on it then. Nobody really wants to have the 'where is this going' talk, but the sooner you do it the sooner you can rip his clothes off and go to town-"

"INO!"

"You were thinking it, I just said it."

Sakura couldn't deny it, so she let it slide with a shake of her head and a private smile. Ino rose from the table, no doubt ready to head back to the couch where she was watching her dramatic soap operas.

"Before they started creeping over our fence those shinobi left something for you. Said it was a priority package from Tsunade. I put it outside your room. Also your cat is lurking on the windowsill."

Sakura looked over her shoulder at the ginger face mashed against the window again, wide eyes gazing deep into her soul. The package would be the personal effects of the man they'd found in Danzo's attic, and her fingers itched to start going through them but her pre dawn shift at the hospital loomed on the horizon, meaning she'd need to put it off until tomorrow afternoon. She opened the door for Mr. Wiggles, watching as he darted inside and disappeared around the corner and up the stairs before she could see if he had anything gripped in his jaws.

"I better not find a dead rat on my bed tomorrow morning!" she yelled up the stairs, tacking a soft, 'again' under her breath where Ino couldn't hear it. He might have been an overfed house cat all his life, but Mr. Wiggles had a knack for creeping up on unsuspecting wildlife and deviating from his carefully portioned meal plan Sakura had set up. She bid Ino goodnight before she headed upstairs, bypassing the bedroom in favour of the bathroom, sweat and dirt clinging to her like a second skin that she was eager to shed. The bathroom filled with steam within minutes, Sakura's skin painted pink and red under the spray of water as she scrubbed her body down, resolutely _not_ thinking about the events that had transpired that evening. She needed to sleep, not lay awake all night aching for hands on her body and a mouth between her legs-

The bathroom tile rattled ominously when she slammed the water off with too much force, pushing the soft cloth of her towel hard against her eyes until she saw stars. Maybe she was going to have a harder time sleeping than she planned. At least the ninken seemed to be lurking elsewhere this evening- she wasn't going to think about what questions they would want to ask her. She could still hear the low hum of the television when she left the bathroom and called out a goodnight to Ino as she clicked her own door shut and prepared for bed. 'Prepared' meaning half heartedly towel drying her hair to avoid early morning frizz; throwing one of the t-shirts she had pilfered from Naruto or Sai over her head and all but throwing herself into the blankets with a sleepy grunt. Sakura curled up on the left side of the bed, punching the mountains of pillows into submission and wriggling into the perfectly shaped dent she had formed over the years. Hesitating ever so slightly, she reached out to the other side, cold under her touch and the sheet and duvet pulled up tight from where she had made the bed earlier that morning.

 _Maybe tomorrow night it won't be empty?_

Sakura huffed and rolled over, turning her back on the empty space beside her.

* * *

The early dawn light painted the village in a beautiful palette of soft yellow and blue, settling easily into the nooks and crannies of the buildings and creeping slowly along the ground. Bakeries and coffee shops still shuttered their windows, but Sakura could catch the scent of coffee beans and bread already being made for the still-sleeping masses. The hospital was quiet, though shinobi returning from missions were already beginning to filter in. Sakura was at least happy to see that there was yet to be anyone looking particularly bloodied or wounded.

"Ohayo Shoji. What's on the agenda for today?"

Shoji shoved his glasses up his nose with one hand, clearly startled by her sudden presence at the desk, "Ohayo Haruno-san, you're earlier than I expected. Ah, you'll be switching out with Himari-san this morning, she's still finishing up with her last patient. I don't have all your files yet, but no major traumas came in over the night, though Konohamaru-san had a bad evening,"

Sakura took the file with a frown, flicking through the notes Himari had left. A spiked fever, increased pain levels. Not uncommon during recovery from major surgery but still worth a second look and monitoring.

"Really, Shoji, you can call me Sakura. I'll see Konohamaru first; will you have the rest of my files ready when I return?"

"Yes, Haru-Sakura-san," he corrected with a crooked smile, "While you're over there, I'll give you the file of his female teammate. Himari-san made some notes on her recovery, if you'd like to take a look."

Sakura took the second file and headed towards the east wing of the hospital, basking in the silence while it lasted. She hadn't thought to check the mission roster before coming in, so she had no idea if she was about to be inundated with returning shinobi teams. Konohamaru was asleep when she slid open his door, watching him with a critical eye. Naruto had clearly been to see him, there was an obnoxiously large stuffed frog sitting beside a vase of flowers on the bedside table. Konohamaru's breathing was laboured, the white sheet tucked high on his chest rising and falling a fraction of a second faster than Sakura would like. It also rasped with a slight wheeze with every inhale, suggesting some kind of illness. Himari had made a note that suggested such, and administered something to help control the fever, though she had found no signs of an underlying infection. He roused when her hand touched his forehead, threading chakra through his system to locate the source of the issues.

"Nee-chan?"

"Go back to sleep," she whispered, "I'm just making you comfortable. You're not feeling well?"

He shook his head sleepily, dropping back into his slumber almost as soon as he closed his eyes. Sakura removed her hand from his forehead and placed the stethoscope to his chest, frowning when she heard the subtle tick of a wet rattle. She replaced the cold instrument with her hand, sighing quietly when her chakra flickered and she felt the damp sensation of something lurking in Konohamaru's lung. It wasn't strictly a surprise that he had contracted something while in the hospital after a major surgery, but they had been doing everything in their power to prevent it. She made a few notes in the chart and stepped back from the bed. They would need an x-ray and likely a blood test to determine if it was a far gone as pneumonia, but for now he would benefit from rest and fluids.

"Haruno-san? I'm just letting you know I'm leaving for the day. Shoji-san has your files ready when you return to the front desk. I see you got my notes about Konohamaru-san?"

Sakura slid Konohamaru's door closed and smiled at Himari, who was already out of her medic scrubs and clearly dressed to leave.

"I did, Himari. I was just wondering though..." Sakura hated this part. The part where she had to question the people she worked with about their abilities without sounding like an asshole. Though Tsunade had admitted on more than one occasion that she wouldn't hesitate in turning the hospital over to Sakura's care, she had no official authority unless both Tsunade and Shizune were out of the village.

"You stated that you checked for foreign bodies that could have caused the spike in temperature, but just now during my examination I found that he might have pneumonia. Did you check his chest when you conducted your exam or just the wound site?"

Himari flushed.

"I- ah- I just checked the wound site, Haruno-san. I'm so sorry."

Sakura waved off the apology and tilted the chart so Himari could see the notes, "In patients recovering from major surgeries, until they are discharged it's always important to do a full exam when there is any chance of infection. He likely caught it here in the hospital, and even though he'll be fine, it's important to catch things like this early. I'll start treatment today and it can be continued this evening if necessary. Enjoy the rest of your day, Himari."

Pink still tinted Himari's cheeks when she ducked away down the halls and Sakura sighed softly. Tsunade's teaching method when it came to Sakura had involved a lot of screaming, aggression and tears, though the last one had been mostly on Sakura's behalf. As much as she had, at the time, questioned it, she now understood the intention. As a medic nin, you held life in your hands. There was no room for simple mistakes, half-energy days, and anything but perfect attention to detail. There had only been a handful of times Sakura had outright yelled at her coworkers for their careless mistakes, and this situation didn't need to be one of them unless Himari began to make it a habit.

Sakura eased Moegi's door open quietly, pausing in surprise when she saw the kunoichi staring blankly at the walls instead of sleeping.

"You're early."

Sakura slid the door closed and flicked on the table lamp to get a better look at her, seeing the masses of white dressings and medical gauze still wrapped around her face. Sakura glanced down at the notes Himari had made, keenly aware of the gaze trained on her as she perused the pages. Himari had noted some concern for Moegi's mental state, citing periods of depression and rage combined with days of silence. Sakura began the routine checkup, but didn't say anything as she did so. She was checking Moegi's blood pressure when the kunoichi finally cracked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"The other medic was in here last night. I yelled at her. Did she... did she say anything bad about me in the file?"

The shamefaced confession made Sakura smile sadly, but she shook her head, "No. The medics here know how hard things are for you right now, Moegi. Unless you're causing them or yourself any danger, we're never going to be upset with you. Can I ask why you got upset?"

Moegi fidgeted as Sakura settled her hands over the dressing, threading chakra slowly through the scarred tissue.

"...everybody thinks I'm weak," she breathed, her one visible eye shining with tears. Sakura chest tightened and she thumbed the stray tears away as she continued her assessment.

"Now why would you say that, Moegi? Nobody here- and I mean _nobody_ thinks that you're weak. I've read your report- you got hit with the explosive tag when you jumped in front of Konohamaru after he'd been hit. It would have killed him if it had made contact, his injuries that night would have prevented him from doing anything about it. You are the farthest from weak I've ever seen."

Tsunade had dropped the report on Sakura's desk a few days after Moegi had regained consciousness; Moegi had seen a shuriken and heard Konohamaru fall, but the explosive tag had come out of nowhere only seconds later.

"I'm a kunoichi," Moegi said softly, "I shouldn't let my appearance dictate how I feel."

Sakura sat on the end of the bed and reached out a hand, assessing the remaining scar tissue that crept across half of Moegi's face. Moegi's file noted that she reacted badly to her dressings being removed, so Sakura was forced to work blind, using only her chakra and medical knowledge to tentatively address the situation. Shizune had done an excellent job with the wounds, but even Shizune's careful medic touch wouldn't have been enough to limit the damage to the skin, though they were confident her fast action had been enough to save Moegi's eye. She was passing her optical exams at only a fraction less than prior to the attack, and aside from some blurriness of vision and tension headaches, there were no obvious signs of permanent damage. Sakura flared a tiny chakra blade into Moegi's skin, disappointment settling in her gut when Moegi didn't react. The nerves in her face were too damaged too feel anything, and it was likely they wouldn't be able to repair it. She would discuss it with Tsunade to make sure her diagnosis was correct, however, before she broke the news to Moegi. Instead, she slid her hands from Moegi's face to her hands, lacing their fingers and squeezing hard.

"We've only got one face, Moegi. It's okay to want to like what you see in the mirror." Sakura offered quietly, "Anyone who tries to tell you otherwise is an idiot. I see you spoke with Himari last night about your pain before you were feeling upset. Do you feel up to discussing it with me or should I come back later in the day?"

She took Moegi's noncommittal shrug as an invitation, poising her pen in hand and looking at her notes. Moegi offered short, clipped answers to most of the questions, only offering more detail when gently coaxed. Her pain levels were elevated, prompting Sakura to recommend a small dose of something to keep her comfortable, though it was unfortunately no surprise to her that the wounds were still causing problems. Moegi was in a for a long stay at the hospital. Physically, she was recovering as fast as they could hope for with such a severe wound. But until they were sure that she wasn't susceptible to any infections in the damaged tissue, she wasn't going anywhere.

"Do you know who did this yet?"

Sakura looked up from her notes and shook her head, lips pressed into a firm line, "Not yet. But it's the main priority for the Hokage right now and we aren't going to give up until there's justice."

"For the dead guy." Moegi said softly with a nod, "He was pretty nice you know. He talked to me all the way back to the village."

Sakura closed the medical file and tucked it into the hanger at the end of the bed. "Not just for him, Moegi. For you and Konohamaru as well. And Anko, and Genma. Even Udon. You were all victims of this attack, and Konoha won't let whoever did this get away with it."

She gave Moegi a reassuring smile before she headed for the door, "I'll send the nurses in to change the dressing on your face, okay?"

"Yes, Sakura-san. Thank you. Have a good day."

Sakura made sure to slide the door fully closed when she left, heading down the quiet halls and back to the front desk. Even in the half hour she had been starting her rounds, the lobby was beginning to filter in more patients. Shoji shoved a teetering pile of folders towards her and tapped the top one before gesturing to a group of shinobi sitting in the cluster of waiting room chairs, flipping through a series of outdated magazines.

"Routine post mission for the first four, returned from Lightning about an hour ago. No major complaints. After that you have a genin team supposed to be returning before nine; two surgeries before midday, and by then the post lunch crowd should be coming in. I'll have their files ready then."

Sakura did a quick scan of the shinobi, seeing at least two favouring a leg and a shoulder while one hadn't stopped sniffling since she had entered the room. She sighed and reached for a pair of gloves and called for the first one, pointing him in the direction of the checkup room.

"I don't really need to be here, it's just a sprain. Can you sign my-"

"Sit down."

Today was going to be a long day, she could already tell.

* * *

Kakashi lingered on the edge of the training ground, poised and ready to lunge at his unsuspecting prey. He wasn't sure if he had been spotted yet, though he could never be too sure. Gai bent down into a low stretch, planting his palms flat on the ground and raising himself into a handstand before flowing easily into a single push up and lowering himself parallel with the ground. Kakashi darted out onto the grounds, seizing the opportunity of Gai's distraction in the hope he could make a quick getaway.

"What does it mean when a woman invites you to her house and she makes sure to tell you that her roommate won't be there?"

He'd underestimated him. Gai was on his feet in a flash, hands caught in the front of Kakashi's shirt. This was a mistake, Kakashi decided immediately. Gai's eyes had widened, his already broad grin somehow stretching even further across his face before his arms wrapped tight around Kakashi's neck.

"A woman has cornered your affection, Kakashi? She must be quite special for you to seek out advice as to how to please her! I am happy to assist!"

Gai's exuberance was attracting the attention of the other shinobi on the training grounds, forcing Kakashi to seize him by the collar and drag them further away. Gai fell limp in Kakashi's grasp and allowed himself to be moved.

"I really don't need help knowing how to please a woman, Gai-"

He let go, and Gai was already punching the air, "First, who is the lovely woman? All women want different things, they have different battles they fight every day! Knowing more about her will help me determine her motives for seeking out your solitary company."

Kakashi pinched the bridge of his nose and breathed heavily. He should have asked Genma. Genma would have shrugged and offered a good enough reason for why Sakura would invite him over- but Kakashi knew in his gut that – as much as it hurt to admit it- Gai would be able to help him. Even though Genma and Shizune were sickeningly domestic with one another, Gai was the only one of their group who had held down multiple serious relationships in his lifetime, most of them ending in a mutual departure where both parties remained friends.

"I'd rather not say."

Gai beamed and offered Kakashi a thumbs up.

"Some matters of the heart should indeed stay personal, Kakashi! I will respect your decisions! But I have to admit I'm not sure why you would ask such a question. Sensuality is best explored when two people can be as emotive as possible-"

Kakashi raised his hand, "So you would assume it is... sensually charged?"

This conversation was physically hurting him. He could feel it eating at a part of his soul. The night before with Sakura had felt different to their other encounters, moving away from a quiet smoulder and into something that held sparks. Her invitation had been accompanied by dark eyes and parted lips in a way that often had led to him in bed with women, but he didn't want to make the wrong assumption. He wanted to do this right. Which was why he was here. Gai was nodding sagely.

"But it is true that you can never know a woman's true intentions until you ask her yourself. But if you're asking for my advice, I would prepare accordingly in case the opportunity for fulfilling your sexual desires arises. If I might make an assumption... is this object of your affection a kunoichi?"

Kakashi paused before he answered, but didn't see the harm in it. There were a lot of kunoichi in the village, there was no real way for Gai to know he was specifically referring to Sakura.

"She is. Why would that matter?"

Gai flailed, as though Kakashi had asked why the sky was blue, "Much of our job as shinobi is to guard ourselves from others; to keep our true selves hidden under the visage of our occupation. When someone invites you into their home, they are opening themselves to you in an intimate way. Revealing the layers of themselves underneath who they show the outside world. To be invited into a woman's home, to be given the opportunity to see her personal space is an honor. Even if the two of you don't consummate your desires-"

"Gai, really-"

"Whoever this woman is," Gai continued, eyes wide and earnest, "She is showing you a great trust. I doubt she is doing it with any expectations in return, but I'm sure it would mean a lot to her if you were to reciprocate that trust."

Reciprocate the trust. Show Sakura something about himself that he kept personal and hidden away from others? That... made a lot of sense. Gai was nodding silently, as though he could see the various cogs screeching in Kakashi's head. As though seeing a weakness in Kakashi's front, he smiled widely and leaned in close, voice dropping into a low whisper.

"...Sakura is an excellent young woman. The both of you complement one another, like the Sakura blossoms to the spring."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes, but Gai was watching him with a speculative head tilt and Kakashi realized Gai hadn't known, but had only assumed. And Kakashi had reacted just as expected. Gai was good. He was smirking now, the tips of his fingers pressed together.

"I've heard many great things about her for a long time, Lee was taken with her since the Academy. She came to me to learn some Taijutsu," he said, head low and eyes closed, "I was incredibly humbled that she would consider me to be a student under. That generation created a lot of great shinobi, but she is unlike any I have ever seen. She is truly something special, Kakashi. As much as I love my student, even I must admit when two true hearts have found one another."

"It's really not that serious," Kakashi rebuffed, though Gai's smile softened and Kakashi prepared for him to begin waxing poetic again. To his surprise, Gai instead reached out and clasped a hand to Kakashi's shoulder.

"You are my eternal rival, Kakashi. That much is true. But I also consider you a close friend. Let yourself be open to good things- you are a man who deserves it."

Compliments made him squirm, especially when they commented on his character. But Gai had a way of sometimes saying things that made everything so much clearer.

 _You deserve good things._

 _You aren't ruining her._

"Thanks, Gai."

Gai's serious face dissolved into his trademark grin and it forced Kakashi's to curl to mimic it like it was contagious.

"Perhaps before your moments evening with your beloved- a challenge! Five hundred push ups! FOR LOVE!"

"Well-"

Gai was already flat to the ground, poised and ready to begin. Kakashi sighed and dropped to his knees, fist planted solidly in the dirt. He could indulge Gai this once, he supposed.

For friendship.

Not love.

Not yet.

* * *

Sakura set Mr. Wiggles on the stone path, where he promptly mewled up at her and tried to scale her legs. She loved him dearly but tonight she wanted to make sure he wouldn't spend most of it begging for hers and Kakashi's attention. The outdoor area, lovingly dubbed, "The Catio" by Naruto, was several large sections of wood piled high into the shape of a small house, complete with a plush cat bed and several toys. Sakura had slapped it together shortly after she had... acquired her feline companion, hoping that coaxing him to be outside would help in his weight loss journey. It hadn't, much to her chagrin, as Mr. Wiggles spent most of his time sprawled uselessly on the top pedestal, gazing off into the distance and licking his tail.

"Stay out here tonight, okay?" she pleaded as he wound his way around her legs, purring up a storm between his pathetic mewls for attention. She scooped him into her arms and plopped him on the catio, where he promptly tuned his butt in her face. Sakura sighed and pulled a tupperware container from her pocket, Mr. Wiggles' ears perking to her direction at the sound of it popping open. Ino had made the chicken while Sakura had been away, which meant it _was_ going to go bad if it wasn't eaten. She set several thick slices of it on the wood, watching the bright eyes peering out at her from the darkness with suspicion. The last time Mr. Wiggles had been treated to rotisserie chicken, he had woken up neutered. She was pretty sure he still hadn't forgiven her for that.

"It's not a trap," she wheedled, "It's a bribe. Don't go scratching on my door at three am, okay? You can come back inside but _stay downstairs._ Or go into Ino's room."

Mr. Wiggles meowed, a single fuzzy paw stretching out from the dark to snag a piece of chicken before drawing it to his body. Satisfied, Sakura headed back inside. She was an excellent pet parent, her new ninken was going to love her. Ino's shift had started an hour ago, which meant Kakashi would be here any moment. Sakura had showered since she returned to the hospital, fluffing her hair into something at least somewhat presentable and spending just shy of a half hour selecting an outfit before finally settling on a comfortable pair of leggings and an oversized shirt. Kakashi didn't care how she looked, he'd seen her covered in two weeks worth of mud, blood, and vomit before. But that didn't mean she didn't want to at least try and look presentable. She'd torn the sheets from her bed and replaced them with a crisp, clean pair, plumping the pillows and shoving all of her miscellaneous clothes around the room into a drawer. The condoms she had grabbed from the bowl at the hospital crinkled as she slipped them into the bedside table.

 _Just in case,_ she'd thought to herself as she had taken them, knowing if she went by the pharmacy there would be gossip. She wasn't ashamed of having sex, but she'd like to actually have it before people started gossiping about it. Not that she'd had much time once her shift had finished to do anything but rush home. The day had been, as she predicted, long and arduous. To her surprise, however, it hadn't been the genin that had caused her grief, but the incoming shinobi. A team had arrived back from their mission to Kirigakure, and brought with them yet another raging cold that was sweeping the village. She had breathed a sigh of relief when she had been summoned to the civilian clinic around the middle of the day to aid one of the midwives. She'd helped deliver a premature baby boy to one of the young mother's she had assisted with for prenatal care. There were a lot of things she loved about her job, but there would always be something special about placing a newborn baby on the chest of its mother.

Her eyes scanned the bedroom, looking for things that were out of place or embarrassing. The box Tsunade had delivered the night before was tucked under her bed, still sealed. The urge to begin rifling through it itched under her fingernails, but there was no telling how long it would be until Kakashi got here.

But on the other hand... he wasn't here _yet._

She dragged the box out from under the duvet, rummaging through what little information Tsunade had been able to scrounge up. What caught her eye first, however, was a tattered journal atop the files. She flicked it open to a random page, shuddering at the detailed sketch of a faceless man chained to a table and dissected like an animal. She slammed it shut.

The urge to read it had definitely waned that wassomething for another day. Right now the only thing on her mind should be-

The sharp, staccato knocks on her front door made her heart leap into her throat. She shoved everything back into the box before kicking it back under the bed, taking the stairs two at a time with ease and skidding to a stop in front of her door. She took a moment to collect herself, resisting the urge to throw the door open. When the tremble in her hand had finally stopped, she gave her hair one last tousle before letting it swing open.

"Yo."

"Yo youself,"

She stepped back and gestured for him to come inside, the butterflies in her gut ricocheting around at high speeds as his eye crinkled in her direction. He declined her offer of both water and tea, but crumbled when presented with the remaining half of Sakura's croissant from lunch. He was sucking the chocolate from his fingers when Sakura casually made her way to the staircase, looking over her shoulder as the only invitation for him to follow.

"I thought we could hang out in here. My room's a lot more comfortable than downstairs. If you want."

 _Smooth like a block of sandpaper, Sakura_

She pushed open her door and stepped over the threshold, suddenly wondering if this had been a good idea. She'd had people in her room plenty of times, Naruto was always running in for something and she _knew_ Ino liked digging through her closet. If Kakashi thought anything was strange, he didn't say so. Instead, he stuffed his hands in his pockets and followed her in, clearly drinking in the details of her room.

 _Please don't think I'm weird..._

* * *

Kakashi couldn't remember the last time he had been in her bedroom. Besides occasionally dropping in to alert her of upcoming missions, he couldn't remember a time he had ever come here for more than a moment at a time. He wasn't sure what he expected, but somehow everything about it screamed Sakura. A large bookshelf in the corner housed several dozen medical textbooks interspersed amid other various fiction books. The bright covers of _Icha Icha_ could be seen poking out from the second shelf, making him smile. The walls were decorated with photos of the Rookie Nine and Team Kakashi, as well as some clearly candid shots of Tsunade, Shizune and others he had seen Sakura interact with. A shot of Team 7, not the one he so often saw, was tacked to the wall by the window. Naruto and Sasuke were sandwiched on either side of himself, clearly dozing in the afternoon sun with _Icha Icha_ open on his face. Sakura's face was crammed in the corner, grinning wide and flashing a peace sign. A charcoal sketch of Sakura; kunai in one hand as she tied up her hair, was beside it with Sai's messy scribble in the bottom corner. Kakashi looked to the window, where a pale blue curtain was swaying lazily in the evening breeze, giving him glimpses of an overflowing flowerbox hanging over the ledge. The walls were haphazardly painted a shade of mint green he recalled seeing in the beds of Naruto, Sai, and Sakura's nails for weeks last summer, and he briefly wondered if he could talk them into helping him repaint his own home. He could see Sakura in his peripheral vision, wringing her hands in silence as she shifted her weight from foot to foot. Gai's words, of all the advice he had received today, lingered in the back of his mind. Sakura was showing him a part of herself that she didn't likely often share. While his own room was unadorned and existed mostly for function, Sakura's was clearly an extension of herself.

"It's nice," he said, wishing he had more words that didn't fit awkwardly in his mouth. The slight tension in Sakura's shoulders unfurled and he felt himself mimic it. Sakura crossed the room and jumped onto the bed, flinging some of the cushions on the floor in her wake.

"Make yourself comfortable. Try not to disturb that game of shogi though, Pakkun and Bisuke have been at it for almost a week now. They keep getting annoyed at one another and having to be separated."

Pakkun and Bisuke played shogi at Sakura's house? Was he his ninken's second favourite person now?

Wait.

There were bigger things happening right now. He'd focus on that later.

He debated sitting on the bed beside her, but instead dragged over the chair tucked neatly into the desk to the bedside. He picked up a lopsided stuffed slug plushie, one eyebrow raised in Sakura's direction. It had two different size and shape buttons for eyes, and the haphazardly sewn seams were bursting with stuffing.

"One of the children from the civilian ward made it for me. I taught her to sew since she was going to be there for a while."

This thing was going to haunt his nightmares. But it was so... Sakura to have kept it right by her workspace, where she could see it every day. His heart thudded against his chest.

This girl was something else.

He set the 'slug' gently on the windowsill and dropped easily into the chair.

"How was your day?"

Sakura perked up, beginning to talk animatedly about the daily grind at the hospital. Kakashi missed being on the mission roster, even if it was only for menial duties most times. He'd never taken this much time off before. He felt like he was slowly losing his mind.

"-Mei remembers you," Sakura finished with a wicked smile, "You made quite the impression on her during your little jailbreak."

Kakashi shrugged his shoulder, "No idea what you mean. I did nothing of the sort."

"Uh huh. Of course not." Sakura drawled.

Kakashi scooted closer to the bed, leaning in close.

"I forgot something when I first got here."

"You did?"

He thumbed at her jaw before he kissed her, drawing her lips to his. Even with the mask on he could feel the warmth and softness of her mouth, but Sakura was clearly wanting more judging by the way her fingers hooked eagerly in the edge of his mask and pulled it down around his neck. Their kisses had passed from curious and tender to harder and more passionate, hands on jaws and rasping gasps between each break. The front of his thighs hit the edge of the bed and he climbed atop it, one hand going to Sakura's waist and cushioning her down onto the pillows.

"Mmmm- wait,"

Kakashi pulled back as soon as he heard Sakura's slightly dazed gasp, pulling away so he wasn't lingering over her. Sakura blinked and pushed hair away from her face, chewing gently on her bottom lip.

"Is something wrong?"

"What? No. No nothing's wrong. Everything is... good. Really good. I just..." she swallowed hard and Kakashi felt his heartbeat stutter. Sakura wide eyes were captivating him, shy and watching his every move. He could feel the heat of her thigh on his own and he rubbed his thumb comfortingly against the skin of her ankle.

"I invited you over here for sex," she said. Calmly, not a waver of anything in her voice; as though they were discussing the weather or the flavors of mochi at the corner store. He cleared his throat and settled back on the bed, keeping an arms length of distance between them. He'd assumed as much, but it was comforting to hear it from her.

"Have you changed your mind?" he asked softly, "Because nothing needs to happen, Sakura."

"No no no," she waved her hands at him and cleared her throat, "It's nothing like that. I just... I want to make sure we're both in this for the same thing. I don't want- I don't want this to mean more to one of us than the other. I want to know..." she trailed off, clearly searching for the right words. Kakashi gave her a few moments before he filled the silence.

"My intentions?" he offered. This talk didn't come as a surprise, though he'd be lying if he said he was often given it beforehand. It was usually afterwards, laying in the post sex glow that his partners rolled over and asked 'what this meant'. More often than not, he was a little ashamed to admit, it meant he was creeping out the window as soon as they'd fallen asleep.

"... _Our_ intentions." Sakura clarified, "I'm hardly a wilting flower... but you already know that. I'm not expecting this to end in a marriage proposal, but I can't tell you I only want sex out of this. I like you. A lot. And I'd like this to be more than sex. And if you don't feel the same way, I need to know now."

He didn't exactly pry into the sexual exploits of his former students – or anyone for that matter- but he had hardly expected that Sakura was still a virgin. He'd tossed her intentions for inviting him to her house over in his head so many times today, though in his gut he had known what it would likely end in. But she was giving him an out, a chance to back away from this and to avoid making things awkward. She'd bared her soul to him in admitting she wanted more than just sex, but smoothed it over by also admitting she wasn't planning for them to settle down and have an army of pink haired babies. For the first time in a long while, he let himself think of the future. Of what it would be like to wake up next to her; to ruffle her hair and kiss her forehead every morning before a mission. For her to be more than a quick comfort and a bandage on gaping wounds he was never sure he would close.

 _She's different._

 _She's something special._

"I've been with a lot of people, Sakura," Kakashi admitted, "Some of those people meant something, but most of them didn't. I want this to mean something. For both of us. And if that means we wait- we will wait. But don't for one second think that I only want you for sex. This is... more to me than that."

His answer pleased her, he had seen that shy smile on her so many times before. She settled herself closer to him, nudging at his legs to prod him until his back met the headboard and he relaxed against the tower of pillows she kept on her bed.

"I told Ino. About... us," she admitted as she curled up beside him, draping her legs easily over his own and nestling herself into the curve of his body as though she had always belonged there, "I hope that's okay."

"Genma knows about us as well. And Gai. Though in my defence, Gai guessed on his own. Not that I'm surprised; I'm sure half of Konoha knows by now anyway. Does that bother you?"

"No."

Kakashi tangled his fingers in her hair, gently at first, waiting for permission. Sakura sighed happily and tipped her head back, encouraging the touch of his hands against her scalp and the long drag through the strands of her bright hair.

"I haven't been Rasengan-ed in the street yet, so I assume Naruto doesn't have any idea?" he joked, though Naruto had been known to have negative reactions to Sakura's partners of the past. Not out of jealousy, he was sure, but the lingering (though somewhat unnecessary) need to protect his teammate.

"Naruto knows I'm an adult and I can do as I please," Sakura said firmly, "If he has any issues it will only be concern for the structure of the team, but you and I are professionals, not lovesick idiots. I won't go sneaking off on missions to make out with you."

"A shame, really."

Sakura punched him playfully in the shoulder and he responded by tugging lightly on her hair, watching for a split second as her mouth parted and her eyes flickered.

He'd need to make a note of that for later.

The weight beside him shifted and Sakura propped her elbows on his chest, kissing the very tip of his nose.

"Can I ask something?"

"You don't need to ask if you can ask questions, Sakura," he chided.

"Who was the first person you slept with?" Sakura asked, and he realized why she had first requested his permission. It wasn't a question he was afraid to answer, and he knew there would likely be more of them. His ninken had not so helpfully already informed her that he had taken with many people before; and he would be a liar if he didn't admit he had the urge to turn the question on her.

"A kunoichi assigned to one of my team missions. She was older than me. We were told that this mission could be dangerous and we might die. She didn't want to die a virgin and neither did I. I was thirteen."

He heard Sakura's sharp intake of breath but she didn't stop the easy, slow strokes of thumb on his abdomen. He didn't tell her that the girl had, in fact, died on the mission. He had stood over her while blood gurgled out of her mouth and remembered the way she had kissed him with sloppy and inexperienced abandon and he had learned more than he anticipated that night. Instead, he smiled.

"Yours?"

Sakura scrunched her nose in an incredibly fetching way, "A boy from the village. He was a civilian while I was training with Tsunade-sama, we met when I was tasked with healing his younger sister after she fell off a swing set and broke her wrist. He would visit me every day after training and we would just sit and talk. He gave me my first kiss the day I showed him how to climb the Hokage monument. I was fifteen when we slept together for the first time. He's married now, I went to the wedding last fall. They're going to have a baby."

Her tone was light and nostalgic, not a trace of sadness or regret in her tone.

"What happened?"

Sakura chuckled.

"Life happened."

That was something Kakashi could understand. It never mattered what plans you had set for yourself, or the direction you tried to cut your own path towards... life found a way to do whatever it wanted with you. Though he was starting to think- here in the bedroom of a woman who looked at him as though he wasn't covered in scars and suffocated under emotional baggage; who stood so fiercely in front of anything in her way and demanded it bow to her- that maybe life had greater plans for him than he could have ever imaged. The silence that settled between them was comfortable and soft, Kakashi finding himself contented just by the feeling of Sakura's weight on his shoulder. He could feel her hands tracing patterns absently on the front of his shirt, drifting up along his biceps before dipping down to the slope of his hips as they disappeared into the waistband of his pants.

"I'm going to kiss you." she said softly, waiting until he inclined his head to show he had heard her before she brought their mouths together.

This kiss was different. Sakura's hands were firm on his shoulder as she drew her closer to him, letting herself fall back so he was half atop her. He hovered his weight over her, kissing back with the same intensity. Her hands crept under his shirt, yanking at the fabric until it swept over his head and disappeared somewhere into the bedroom. He could feel her fingers on his scalp, raking through his hair and keeping him within kissing distance until they were drifting down his back and sliding under the band of his pants.

"Off?" she asked softly.

He was more than happy to oblige, watching with amusement as Sakura kicked the fabric of the bed like it had personally offended her. He was happy that he had chosen his second nicest pair of underwear today. He'd considered the dancing pugs but somehow it hadn't felt appropriate.

Kakashi nudged her thighs apart with his knee, settling between them with ease before he broke the kiss. He pulled back, ignoring the unimpressed grunt he received in favour of the sharp intake of breath when his mouth met the hot skin of her hip. He kissed along the angle of her hip, over the softness of her lower stomach and up to the defined plane of her abs. He could feel the encouraging tugs of her hands in his hair, coaxing his ministrations up to her ribcage before he felt her pull away. He stopped kissing her, leaning back to put space between them in case they had gone too far. His concerns were soothed almost immediately, however, when Sakura shook her head and drew him back to her. She licked her lips and tugged gently on the sleeve of her nightshirt.

"I'm not-ah- I'm not wearing anything under this shirt," she said, eyes dark and wide as she teased the end of the hem between her fingertips. Kakashi raised an eyebrow and Sakura grinned, mouth still wet from their kisses, "I just thought I should let you know."

Kakashi couldn't help but smile, leaning in to kiss her before pushing the fabric over her stomach, over the stretch of her ribs as she arched to free the fabric from under her- before he folded it loosely and dropped it on the floor. Sakura's hair spilled out over her shoulders, some tendrils landing softly on the swell of her breasts. Kakashi smiled.

"My abs aren't as nice as yours. You're putting me to shame here." he teased, hoping to ease the self consciousness he could see flickering in her eyes. It worked, the doubt gone and replaced with a squint of her eyes as she laughed.

"Give me three weeks, I'm sure I could whip you into shape."

Kakashi smiled and kissed her collarbone, letting his kisses drop down the valley of her chest while his fingertips grazed his breasts. He took his time pressing his mouth to her body, finding where the ticklish giggle turned into the appreciative moan; how the swirl of his tongue with the scrape of his teeth across her nipple earned him an arch and a bitten off curse. Sakura was gasping and whimpering by the time he finally reached the waistband of her leggings, looking up at her for permission before sliding them easily off her long legs and dropping them over the bed.

She wasn't wearing anything under those either.

The kiss he pressed to the inside of her thigh made her tremble, and the one placed ever so slightly higher offered him a cracked moan. He heard the long, drawn out whine of 'please' and he was already achingly hard against the fabric restraint of his underwear.

"Take them off," Sakura breathed, "Please, Kakashi, I _want_ ,"

He tossed them down with her clothing, very aware of the fact that Sakura was watching him as he gave himself three quick strokes. His condoms were in the pocket of his pants, which were now... he tried to surreptitiously search the room, looking for their landing spot. Sakura reached out and opened her bedside drawer, retrieving one and tearing it open with her teeth. He had a moment to be impressed by her preparedness before he grit his teeth with a hiss, feeling her hand wrapped tight around him as she rolled the condom down his length.

"How do you want me?' she asked, and Kakashi was sure if his body hadn't already been screaming for her, _that sentence_ would have done it.

"On your back. I want-"

 _I want to see you_

Sakura didn't question his pause, only fell back against the pillows and hooked her legs around his waist, kissing him again and again like it was the only thing keeping her alive. When he finally sank into her, he knew he wasn't going to last long, much to his chagrin. It had been a long time since it had been like this, since it had been more than just a faceless person scratching an itch. He dropped his face into the crook of her neck, feeling the rock of her hips meeting him thrust for thrust. Sakura's hand was braced on the headboard, nails scraping on the wood. He felt the sting of her teeth on his chest and he growled, knowing it was going to leave a mark and leaving one of his own in return, high up on her neck.

"People will see that!" she gasped.

"I don't care."

He punctuated his words with a snap of his hips before he sucked his thumb into his mouth and slipped it between them, finding her clit and pushing up against it with the barest amount of pressure. It was enough, based on Sakura's hand going from the headboard to his back, digging in and gripping to him. The other covered his own, coaxing his thumb in a circle and changing the pressure until she closed her eyes and moaned.

"Do it like that. Please. _Please._ "

If she knew what she wanted, he'd be happy to oblige. He could feel the tightness around him, the sound of skin and the creak of the bed mingled with Sakura's gasps and praises. He wasn't going to last much longer and like hell he was finishing if she didn't. He thrust harder- faster into her, timing his strokes of his thumb with the strokes inside her until he could feel the tremble of her legs and the flutter of her walls and her half gasp of 'ohyesfuck' wasn't necessary to tell him she was coming. He planted his hand in the bed and thrust twice more before he bit of a grunt and felt the tension finally release.

When the peak of his orgasm had faded, Kakashi lifted his weight from Sakura and rolled to the side, feeling the pile of pillows mash instantly underneath him. His chest heaved with every breath, the thunder of his heart echoing in his ears. Sakura rolled over, cheeks flushed and panting softly.

"...wow?"

Kakashi snorted, which was the cue for Sakura to begin laughing as well. He let himself lay in the afterglow, listening to the heavy breathing beside him peter out over time. This was usually the part where he got up and left...

"You can stay?" Sakura said softly, half a question but layered with hopefulness. He thought about the excuses he could make, how easily he could wait until she fell asleep and slip out the window. How if it had been anyone else he would already be planning those things.

And how all he wanted was to wake up with pink hair on his chest and sleepy green eyes looking back at him. He leaned in and touched his lips to the crown of her head, muttering into her hair.

"If you'll have me."

He felt the tug of the blanket as Sakura yanked it from under him, throwing it up to cover them both in darkness. His endorphins were fading, leaving his muscles lax and his eyes heavy. Sakura's mouth was at his ear.

"You never have to ask."

He could feel himself falling asleep already, wrapped in the warmth of the bed and the softness of the pillows. He should ask her where she bought the mattress. No wonder the ninken liked sleeping here. When was the last time he'd gotten a good sleep- besides that time he was in a coma? He didn't remember... her bed smelled like crisp air, sex, and Sakura. It was a good scent...

"goodnight kakashi..."

She was smiling. He could hear it in her voice.

He hoped it was because of him.

* * *

She would need to get up soon. She could see the sun rising in distance, but the warmth of Kakashi's body beside hers was begging her to stay where they were. Kakashi had stirred awake sometime in the night and his movement had startled her, though it had taken a turn for the better when it became sharing lazy kisses that had turned into Kakashi inside her again and again, long and slow strokes that made her beg and writhe. At some point, she had rolled them both onto the floor and dragged the sheets and comforter with her. The plush bedding was wrapped around her, wedged under her back, and thrown haphazardly over Kakashi's lower body before snaking around his thigh. He was asleep, or he was good at pretending he was. She pressed a tiny kiss to the crook of his neck, but the steady rise and fall of his chest didn't change.

"Kakashi."

"Unghfg,"

Sakura pressed a hot, open mouthed kiss to a red and purple mark blooming on his chest, "Kakashi.."

She saw his eye crack open and he blinked the sleep away, muffling his yawn with the back of his hand.

"It's morning?"

"Yep."

Sakura pressed another kiss to the swell of his bicep; then one to his collarbone, scraping her teeth gently over the sharp jut of it. He raised an eyebrow, but she ignored it, continuing the slow drag of her mouth over his bare chest.

"Are you seducing me?"

Sakura laughed, kissing the skin just above his bellybutton and inclining her head to the wrap of the sheet over his hips, "Well it's working. Or did I wear you out? There's really no shame in- oof"

He'd grabbed her by the waist and lifted her as though she was weightless, letting her sprawl ungracefully on his stomach. He was _smirking_ at her. Readjusting, she let the duvet fall off her shoulders as she settled easily on his hips, surprised that she wasn't more self conscious under his stare. It felt as though he was drinking her in in the morning light as his gaze flickered from the tousle of her hair, over her breasts and down to the peak of her thighs.

"You're beautiful." he murmured, almost too softly for her to have caught it. She blushed.

Sakura reached easily down between them, hand circling around his cock and giving it several soft strokes while she basked in the soft groans of pleasure. She was tender from the night before, but seeing him sprawled on her floor, messy haired and sleepy eyed had stirred something in her. They had time before she had to leave for work. She caught the condom- the _last_ condom- she noted, between her teeth and ripped it open, rolling it easily down the length of his shaft. Kakashi's hands were on her hips in an instant, guiding her down against his lazy, measured thrusts up into her.

"This is a good look on you," he gasped, snapping his hips particularly hard as she rocked down on him, making her cry out and dig her nails into the flat of his abs.

"Good. Get used to it." she shot back with a smirk, shifting her knees to get better leverage and watching Kakashi arch under her.

She heard the screech of the gate signalling Ino's arrival and she cursed under her breath, sweat beading down her back and she worked her hips against Kakashi's, tipping her head back and sinking her teeth into her bottom lip to stifle her whimpers and moans. She felt Kakashi's hard grip on her hips and then the cold, hard floor under her back as he flipped himself on top of her, the leverage letting him go harder and deeper into her. His free hand went to her mouth, the other hitching her leg over his hip before planting firmly on the hardwood behind her head. If this was supposed to make her regret insinuating he couldn't keep up, she wasn't sure this was punishment. She could feel his strokes getting faster and more erratic as he buried his sweaty forehead into the crook of her neck with his own bitten off grunt. She dug her nails into the firm muscle of her back and whimpered, feeling the tight knot of something surging in her gut before she moaned against his hand and rode it out; pleased to hear a hitch of breath and a stuttered gasp in her ear only moments later. She could hear the front door open and close, the rustle of Ino dropping her gear on the floor and the sound of water filling the kettle.

"...that one might have worn me out," Kakashi mumbled before pressing a tiny kiss to the crook of her neck.

Sakura laughed, giddy and rushing with endorphins. She had no idea how she was supposed to go about her today with the memory of _this_ right at the front of her mind. Kakashi had hitched the sheets around his hips and was wrapping the condom in a tissue, watching her closely with a tiny quirk of a smile on his lips. He was gathering his clothes from where Sakura had exuberantly tossed them when he looked down at her.

"I have somewhere to be this morning, and I know you'll be at the hospital all day. But can I see you tonight?"

Sakura sat up and stretched, drinking in the view in front of her, "I suppose we could make that happen. Did you have anything in mind?" she teased, unashamedly watching the beads of sweat roll over the marks she had made on him last night. Kakashi smiled.

"I thought I could make you dinner at my place. Say around seven?"

Sakura bit her bottom lip and blushed, "I'll be there."

Kakashi stooped down to where she was still sprawled on the floor, catching her jaw and pressing a tender kiss to her mouth before jumping easily out the window and disappearing. She stayed on the floor for a long time, her heart full to bursting with emotions. It wasn't until she heard Ino's voice call up the stairs that she broke out of her reverie.

"Are you up yet, Forehead? you're going to be late!"

"Oh shit."

A quick shower, mandatory teeth brushing and a high necked shirt later; Sakura took the stairs two at a time, medic pouch in hand and hitai-ate dangling from her wrist. Ino looked up from the table, mug of tea in hand and smiled knowingly.

"You're glowing, Forehead."

Sakura grabbed an apple in her free hand and did a twirl on the kitchen floor. "Ino," she began, breathless and cheeks hurting from grinning, "You have... _no idea._ "

* * *

 **A/N-** **Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! I'm glad the scene with kakashi was well received. I hope the scenes in this chapter were worth the wait, I haven't written sex since I was lying about being 18 . I actually had this chapter as it is posted finished almost 2 weeks ago, but couldn't figure out why I hated it so much. Turns out I was trying to shove too much into one chapter and took an entire plotline out to save for the next chapter. Writers life amirite.**

 **Wedding planning is going to be the actual death of me. Send help. Or reviews. Those are good too.**


	29. Chapter 29

Kakashi crept through his own front door like a child doing something they shouldn't. He could hear the grumbling snores of his ninken coming from the slightly ajar bedroom door and he breathed a sigh of relief. He skirted across the floorboards, silent and unhindered, making it to the bathroom and letting the door shut with a quiet _snick_ and turned the lock. The house remained silent. His clothes landed in the laundry hamper and he caught sight of his body in the mirror, two large marks that matched the shape of Sakura's mouth were imprinted on his chest, and one was settled directly over his hip. He didn't have to look to know there were crescent moons dented in the skin of his back, he could still feel them tingling.

He'd been tempted to just show up at Genma's door to do the work he had promised, but he was sure he reeked of sweat and sex. A shower would probably be polite. The rattle and groan of the pipes made him tense, waiting for the ninken to wake up and begin nosing at the door for details. When nothing came, he let himself relax under the water.

He was tired.

 _Really_ tired.

He might not be an old man by any means but he was still technically recovering from an injury and it had easily been months since he had last been with someone. Sakura had certainly given him a run for his money this morning with the needy ride of her hips and the fast pace he had been eager to keep up with. His cock stirred lazily at the memory but ultimately decided it was too much effort. He scrubbed himself clean and shut of the water, towelling his hair into a mess of spikes before he made the perilous journey into his bedroom. The dogs had seized the opportunity of an empty bed and were dotted over its entirety, sprawled on back and belly in various uncomfortable looking poses. He could see that Bisuke, of them all, was the only one awake. Kakashi waited for him to sound the alarm, but he was only given a lazy smile.

"We like her, Boss." he whispered before crossing his paws and letting his head rest atop it.

Kakashi gave Bisuke an appreciative smile before grabbing the first clean outfit he could get his hands on. Genma had told him to arrive around six, and it was already ten after. When he pounded on the door, he was surprised when it opened to reveal Shizune, bleary eyed and wearing a house robe.

"Kakashi-san?"

"...yo?" he said uncertainly, looking behind her to find a very confused Genma watching him from over the top of a coffee cup. He was wearing boxers and a sleeping shirt, clearly not dressed for the home renovations he had guilt-shamed Kakashi into coming by to assist with.

"What are you doing here?"

"You told me to be here at six," Kakashi defended.

"Yeah I said that because I thought you wouldn't show up until nine."

Kakashi didn't try and deny it. The only reason he was even punctual was because he knew if he let himself fall into his bed he might not bother getting up until the evening. And he had a lot of important things to do today. Shizune excused herself to the bedroom, more than likely to dress for the day given that they now had a visitor. He would feel bad about it if he hadn't been told to arrive this early. Genma sighed and drained the coffee cup before sitting it on the edge of the sink.

"Let me get some pants. I suppose if we do it now I can spend the rest of the day doing nothing. We're getting rid of those two couches," he gestured to the sofa set that looked as though it had been around since the creation of Konoha, "And that bookshelf. We need to get them to the curb. Then I need help bringing the new stuff up."

Kakashi was only half listening at this point, his eyes having fallen on what was clearly Shizune's notes about the sharingan that had been found on Danzo's body. Uchiha files were stacked neatly on the coffee table; various photos of his own sharingan spread out along the edge, covered in sticky notes and red marker. Shizune's neat handwriting filled an entire scroll, line after line of medical terminology he didn't understand. Genma followed his stare and scratched the back of his neck.

"Yeah, I don't really know what all that is about because she won't tell me but I'm assuming you know all about it. You're...okay. Right?"

Genma didn't know about Danzo's possession of the sharingan, so it made sense he immediately only thought of Kakashi being the reason for Shizune's research. Kakashi nodded, squinting at the scroll and trying to commit as much of it to memory as he could, knowing he could possibly ask Sakura about it later.

"I'm fine. The Hokage just has a... renewed interest in the sharingan, you could say."

"I'm getting that vibe," Genma grouched, "I'm going to start seeing those things in my sleep."

He disappeared into the bedroom as Shizune reemerged. She offered Kakashi a tight smile as she bent down to collect the files.

"Have you found anything useful?" he asked, hearing the slight rasp in his voice. He trusted Tsunade and Shizune to treat the eyes with the care and dignity they deserved, but it was near impossible not to forget how they had come into their hands. Shizune bowed her head and offered him a soft smile.

"Quite a lot, Kakashi-san. I was able to closer study the genetic makeup of the kekkei genkai in more detail, it will likely help us in finding antidotes to some diseases. It has been a great honour to be trusted with this information, I don't know if I will ever be able to thank you enough."

Genma's return didn't allow him to voice his response, though he wasn't sure if he would have had one. Shizune scooped the files into a mesh bag and rested it on her shoulder, pressing a soft kiss to Genma's cheek.

"I'll be at the Hokage tower if you need me."

She bid them both goodbye, the click of her heels echoing down the staircase from where she left the door ajar. Genma looked Kakashi up and down, eyes narrowed in suspicion. Kakashi smiled and stuffed his hands into his pockets, humming to himself as he wandered over to one end of the old couch and nudged it with his foot.

"...going to assume you had a good evening with Sakura?" Genma fished, reaching one hand under the couch.

Kakashi continued humming, lifting his end with ease and pivoting around to balance it on his shoulder. Genma snorted.

"If I knew she was going to be such a good influence that you'd start showing up for things on time, I'd have tried to set you two up a long time ago."

"Don't get used to it. Today is just a _very_ good day."

"Yeah I'll bet."

Kakashi ignored the suggestive lilt in Genma's tone, still unable to wipe the smile from his face. Nothing was going to kill his good mood today.

* * *

"I had over a dozen men comb the camphor tree and the Uchiha compound and they found nothing," Tsunade said, stifling a yawn with one hand and pouring a steaming cup of coffee with the other, "So either he's lying, or he was wrong about the location of this supposed passageway."

Jiraiya brought the mug to his lips, scanning through the report of the interrogation, "He has no reason to lie, he knows he'll be executed. Besides, how else would Danzo have managed to smuggle in two children without anyone noticing? A passageway in and out of the village would account for how he kept his comings and goings so secret. If the Gate Guards never saw him leave, we would naturally assume he was still in the village. Who knows who many other shinobi he could have kidnapped and held in Konoha without us knowing. I'd wager it's how the grave robber ended up here without us noticing."

Tsunade grunted, but didn't say anything else, nose buried deep in personnel files of her hospital staff. Jiraiya knew that Tsunade treated the hospital like it was a child of her own, and the thought that she had hired someone who was betraying their village and abusing their power was eating her alive. He had wandered into her office before dawn, expecting to find it empty only to be met by Tsunade sitting cross legged on the floor and surrounded by stacks of folders, empty mugs of coffee scattered here and there about the room.

"Did you find Inoichi?"

Tsunade's flat stare told him enough, but it didn't hurt to pry any further. He knew she had been hoping that subjecting the two members of her Guard Platoon who had been incapacitated to a mind body jutsu would reveal something, but it hadn't given them any leads. Whoever had come upon them had taken great care to keep out of view at all times. Tsunade brandished one file in the air, tossing it over in Jiraiya's direction.

"What about him? I had him on loan from the civilian clinic around the time this all started. No chakra to speak of, no interest in shinobi life. Hoga Shoji. He's acting as the receptionist for the hospital. Full access to files, paperwork and general gossip. He would be the perfect plant for Danzo to have ears everywhere."

Jiraiya scanned the file, though nothing of note jumped out at him immediately. It wasn't unheard of for civilians to be used as spies, though it made extracting information much more difficult when they were untrained in stealth and subtle interrogation tactics to use to their advantage.

"Yuuto said there's been a hospital contact since Sasuke was sick; Shoji wouldn't have been at the hospital then. Unless Danzo had two people inside the building. It's a big place, the more spies the more information they could collect. Switching up spies would also be a way to shake any possible suspicion. Put him in the maybe pile."

The maybe pile consisted of over a dozen files thus far. The much smaller pile beside Tsunade's left elbow was people they knew were clear of any suspicion. Sakura, Shizune, and a handful of medics that had been personally investigated already. The hospital had just shy of one thousand employees, which didn't include the civilians who worked the more menial jobs, or the various couriers. The hunt for the spy- or spies- as they were now considering, would take days; and Tsunade had insisted the job be left solely to her. Jiraiya poured over the scrolls that Sasuke had given them until his eyes ached, searching for any information that they could have missed, as unlikely as it was. Would the Uchiha really be so bold as to allow a weak point of access to their own compound? If anyone was to stumble upon the camphor tree, they would be able to walk unhindered into the heart of an ancient clan.

He pursed his lips.

"You know... the Uchiha weren't stupid."

Tsunade looked up from her papers, "I wouldn't make a judgement that broad. Some of them were definitely a few kunai short of a mission pack. What's your point?"

"Well, if we assume that the tunnels were in place _before_ the massacre, how likely is it that the Uchiha were unaware of them? Sure, it wasn't on any of their maps systems, but why make a physical record of it- especially when it involves a breach in Konoha's safety as a whole. The Hokage would have torn them to shreds for compromising the safety of the village. And the Uchiha were notoriously secretive, I doubt they'd set up a system like that that just anyone could stumble upon. So what's a way that they could come and go as they pleased, without anyone not in the Uchiha circle being able to access it? Something that Danzo had as well."

The realization dawned in Tsunade's eyes, immediately followed by an annoyed sigh as she tipped her head back and smoothed her hands down her face.

"They could use the sharingan to access the entrances. Some sort of chakra based seal that only the sharingan could see or use. It would explain why Sasuke was never aware of it, he hadn't manifested his kekkei genkai before the massacre. And how Danzo was able to locate it and we aren't."

Jiraiya smiled, "This does mean, however, that we're going to need a sharingan so we can test this theory."

Tsunade huffed and threw a case file in his direction, which he caught with ease before her near-perfect aim could send it crashing into his eye. Himari's case file was fairly cut and dry; a nurse of six years before she had been taken on as a medic in the hospital. Her rotations had been more circulated to the civilian clinic until Hinata had requested time away from her duties to properly dedicate her time to clan matters. Good student, good work ethic. She wasn't an active shinobi, having only made it to genin before switching her career choice. But Tsunade hadn't worked with her closely enough to feel comfortable giving her a pass, so Jiraiya would agree with her, and placed the file in the maybe section. Tsunade stuck hadn't answered him yet, instead sparing only a partial glance at Ino Yamanaka's name before dropping it onto the trusted counsel pile and picking around for another.

"Tsunadeeeeee," Jiraiya urged, drawing out the last letter of her name in saccharine tones, "He's the only sharingan in the village. Unless you want me to wave that disembodied arm around and hope for the best."

Tsunade slapped a file shut and sighed, "I want him kept out of this, Jiraiya. He will get too close. He's already got my student on his side, now I'm losing you too?"

"I'll make sure he doesn't do anything stupid," Jiraiya assured her, "We go out there, he flashes the eye around and if we find anything we report back to you right away. I'm confident he won't go out of his way to be stupid."

"You're confident that _Hatake Kakashi_ won't do anything stupid?" she repeated doubtfully, watching as Jiraiya's smile grew and he leaned in, hands planted on her desk.

"I don't know if you've noticed, being stuck in this tiny hole of yours, but Kakashi's made quite a change in the last few months since he was kidnapped."

Tsunade pursed her lips, clearly somewhat unhappy to have to admit he was right. Jiraiya knew Kakashi wasn't the only person she had seen a change in, either. Her own former apprentice had changed, in ways that were only ever so slight but held weight. Kakashi wasn't likely to go throwing himself wholeheartedly into danger these days.

"...fine."

Jiraiya clasped his hands into fists and shimmied his hips, his 'winning' dance making Tsunade snort.

"If there's anything at that camphor, the two of you have permission to follow the tunnels and see if it does lead into the Uchiha compound. If you encounter anything suspicious, you are not to engage. Under any circumstances. I don't care-" she continued, cutting off what would undoubtedly be Jiraiya's protest, "-what happens. Do not engage. Do you understand me?"

Jiraiya remained silent. They stared at each other for a long moment before he finally huffed and rolled his eyes.

"Fine. We won't engage under any circumstances. Does that make you happy?"

"I'm practically cartwheeling right now." Tsunade droned, opening another personnel file.

Jiraiya didn't take his leave just yet, something else from earlier still lingering in his mind. He had come across Naruto the day before, out on one of the more secluded training grounds while he secretly trained with Sai. The words of the Tsuchikage seemed to still be lodged in Naruto's mind- the suggestion that they weren't being completely honest about what had happened the night he had the kyuubi sealed within him. It took Tsunade's pointed glare of suspicion before he told her this, watching as she let her head thud heavily down onto the desk.

"Jiraiya."

That was her dangerous voice. Her laced with venom and dripping with warning tone that he had heard often and ignored more times than he could count. She was Hokage to many people in this village. But to him, she would always be his oldest friend.

"I know what you're going to say," he hedged, "But it could be time."

"If it was up to me he'd have been told from the very beginning. He would never have grown up not knowing why more than half the village treated him like he was a criminal, and I would have _never_ let him be ostracized that way! We're lucky the kyuubi didn't get a hold of him in his youth the same way the ichibi did with Gaara. But it did happen and we need to work with what we have. Until we are sure Naruto can fully control the kyuubi when he's emotional, we can't tell him. He's worked so hard to gain the trust and support of the village that hated him, could you imagine what would happen if he lost control for even a moment? They would never forgive him, they would never follow him as Hokage. I believe in him, I wouldn't be behind this damn desk if I didn't. But you've seen it with your own eyes, he still has a way to go; he isn't ready to know the truth just yet. I had high hopes after Sasuke died and he spent that time away- he left here still a child and came back a grown man I can see leading this village into the future. But not right now. Maybe after all of this is over... we can discuss this again. I signed promises in blood when I took over this village, Jiraiya. One of them was making sure I wouldn't tell Naruto the truth until he was ready."

A flush had crept high on her cheeks by the time she finished speaking, her voice taking a sharper edge that he knew better than to poke and prod at. He held his arms up in surrender and turned on his heels, passing Shizune in the halls just outside.

"She's in a mood," he mumbled as a warning, flinching when a paper weight connected with the wall just beside his head.

"I heard that!"

Shizune bent down to scoop up the paperweight, brushing the wall plaster off it and inspecting it for damage.

"Is Hatake out of bed yet?"

"He is, actually," Shizune replied with a somewhat flustered smile, "He's helping Genma move some things around in the apartment if you were looking for him."

Jiraiya thanked her, heading down the hallway and whistling to himself. He might not have gotten through to Tsunade just yet, but he would get there.

In time.

* * *

"Sakura-san?"

Sakura looked up from her notebook, finding Shoji lingering in the doorway to the medic's break room, "Yes?"

"Hyuuga Hinata is here to see you. She said it was urgent that the two of you speak."

Sakura frowned and pocketed the book, leaving her sandwich half finished on the table next to her empty cup of tea. Hinata was standing in the foyer of the hospital, pacing back and forth and wringing her hands nervously. Sakura didn't like the feeling that crept low into her gut, eating away at the happiness that had been bubbling there all morning.

"Hinata?"

The woman in question turned on her heel, relief flooding her face when she caught sight of Sakura. She came closer, grabbing for Sakura's hands and squeezing them tight.

"I'm so sorry to disturb you at work, Sakura. But I- well it couldn't wait- I just needed- ah..."

Hinata had long grown out of her stuttering, Sakura hadn't heard a touch of the nervous and timid girl in her voice since Hinata had stood up to her father and taken her rightful place as the heir to the Hyuuga clan. It worried her more than she could say to hear the tremble and hesitation of Hinata's voice.

"Exam room four is available," Sakura offered, keeping up her proper medic behaviour. It never helped patients when their doctor seemed nervous as well. Hinata's eyes circled the room, though she didn't active her byakugan.

"It isn't a medical concern I have," she said, lowering her voice conspiratorially, "I just need to speak with you privately. Somewhere we won't be overheard."

Sakura thought of what Tsunade had said, that the hospital was likely not a safe haven for secrets anymore. She surveyed the room- two nurses were making chatter by the water cooler, Shoji had resumed his position at the front desk and was checking in the afternoon patients; a few shinobi were scattered in the chairs. She wanted to believe that going to the exam rooms would guarantee them privacy, but she couldn't be sure.

"A walk then?" Sakura suggested, knowing the path around the hospital would likely be unoccupied this time of day. Hinata agreed, letting Sakura's gentle touch on her arm steer her out the hospital doors. She waited until they were up against the side of the hospital building, the large trees shading the path they walked. Hinata was chewing her bottom lip, red and swollen clearly from nervous abuse.

"Sakura... you have always been kind to me. Even when we were in the Academy you always encouraged me to be the best I could be. It was you and Naruto who convinced me I was enough for my clan. And when I came to you for... personal matters earlier this year- you not only spoke to me like a medic, but as your friend. I want to do something for you in return, but I'm afraid you may not like it."

"Like what, Hinata?"

Sakura didn't like where this was going. With everything that was happening in the village she knew that whatever Hinata had say was going to be unpleasant, it was the only reason she could think that the woman she had known for so long would be so scared to speak to her. Hinata had lowered her gaze, head bowed and hands clasped tightly together, nail marks cutting into her hands.

"I have been in contact with many of the great shinobi clans across the hidden villages. My father caused more grief for them than I can speak of, but I was eager to try and rebuild the bonds, if not just for the good of our clan but for the betterment of Konoha as a whole. While I had little difficulty with reparations in Suna, many of the nations to the west and north refused my offers of mending bonds. One clan in particular sent word to me that they were willing to make peace with the Hyuuga's, but not with Konoha. I asked why, and..."

"And?"

Hinata shied her gaze away, "Many clans outside of Fire country have concerns in regards to Tsunade-sama. Apparently there have been...a number of incidents and she is connected to them. I tried to assure them that whatever they had heard was merely hearsay, talk of jealous shinobi who wanted to cause trouble. But they persisted."

Hinata reached inside her pale purple yukata and retrieved a tightly bound scroll, which she held out to Sakura.

"I swear on my life and my clan that if you tell me you trust wholly in Tsunade-sama, I will stand behind her. But this letter... it is incredibly distressing to read. They can connect her to more than a dozen incidents. And when Naruto-kun returned from the Kage Summit, he mentioned that there was a lot of talk about Tsunade-sama's intentions. He didn't go into detail, he said it was nothing of any merit but..."

Sakura took the scroll and unfurled it in her hands, not recognizing the handwriting but still able to decipher to tight loops and whorls of the print. Missing shinobi, village attacks- all things Tsunade had told her she had been secretly assumed to be part of. The person had gone so far as to suggest that Tsunade had torched the Konoha medical crop herself, with the intention on pinning the blame on another village and using it as an excuse to break treaty. Even more worrying though, Sakura noted, was that the clan leader admitted there had been talk between the other Kages about the concerns they had. It was obvious that the Tsuchikage had poor feelings towards Tsunade, but to know he was still pushing his agenda even after the Kage Summit wasn't comforting.

"Hinata? Who else do you speak to about clan matters?"

Hinata frowned, "Neji is my clan advisor, though occasionally I ask my sister. Why?"

"Do you talk to Naruto? Does he know about these things?"

The thought had hit her so suddenly she felt it rattle in her chest. Naruto hadn't believed the Tsuchikage when he had suspected Tsunade of wrongdoings because he hadn't known him, his faith in Tsunade had been unshakeable since the beginning. But if Hinata- the love of his life, and a woman he trusted wholeheartedly- was to suspect Tsunade of anything, there was a chance he could be swayed. Sakura would go to her grave refusing to believe that Tsunade would commit horrible crimes against other villages, that she would go out of her way to start a war that would kill thousands of people- _innocent people._ But not everyone had been trained by her, not everyone saw underneath the alcoholic gambler facade she threw into the public eye and used to drown her sorrows. Naruto only trusted a handful of people in this village, and Hinata's place as the leader of the Hyuuga clan made her a perfect target to sow misinformation right to Naruto. Hinata was frowning deeper now.

"Well, I've mentioned some things to him, but-"

Sakura cut her off, "Hinata. I don't want to talk about this anymore. I trust Tsunade-sama wholeheartedly and I am upset that you would suggest she could be behind this. I value our friendship too much to want to ruin it over such a trivial matter. Maybe we could discuss this over dinner instead. When we've both taken some time to calm down. There's a lovely restaurant I know of in the North district. Their roasted corn appetizer is like nothing you've ever tasted."

The code was nearly five years old. Used on the first mission Hinata, Ino, Ten Ten and Sakura had been sent on together. They had become aware they were being watched early in the mission and developed a code to discuss any issues that arose. Corn had been their code word for eavesdroppers and spies, or someone following them at a distance and she prayed that Hinata would remember. Hinata, whose eyes had widened in fear and hurt when Sakura had so abruptly dismissed her, pursed her lips and smiled softly.

"Maybe discussing it over dinner would be the best. Though I have to admit I'm not partial to corn. Perhaps something else?"

"That's what I thought, but I can assure you it is... almost unbelievable," Sakura breathed, relieved that Hinata hadn't forgotten. Hinata reached for Sakura's hands again, squeezing them tight as she had done earlier in the hospital and bowing her head apologetically. Sakura felt Hinata's thumb stroking along the inside of her palm and she memorized the touch, remembering it as another technique they had used on missions together. Hinata began talking, keeping up the casual code.

"I'm so sorry I bothered you at work, Sakura. I should have considered the position it would put you in."

 _is the area compromised?_

"You're right, Hinata. I consider you a friend but I do wish you had thought this through. I'm under a lot of pressure right now."

 _yes_

Hinata's jaw ticked, and Sakura felt the tightness in her gut release. Hinata believed her. Hinata was going to hear her out. She felt Hinata release her hands and she pieced the letters together.

 _Naruto?_

"Perhaps we make the dinner a girls night? I'm sure Naruto wouldn't mind an evening alone." she suggested, knowing that Hinata was concerned for Naruto's safety in all of this. Given that there seemed to be no interest in him or the kyuubi, Sakura felt comfortable assuring Hinata he would be fine. The tension in her shoulders released and she bowed politely.

"I'll have someone contact you with the details. You know how busy it can get with the clan. I'm looking forward to seeing you again, Sakura. I'm so sorry I brought you such upsetting news."

They bid their farewells, with Hinata heading back around the hospital and disappearing into the milling midday crowd. Sakura stood in the shade of the trees, staring down at the dappled light being thrown across the hard packed dirt. If her hunch was correct, this had even more layers than she had first thought. It was entirely likely she was wrong- she _hoped_ she was wrong. But with all of the other twists and turns they had encountered these last few months, was it so far fetched to believe that outsiders were trying to manipulate Hinata to in turn manipulate Naruto? Her lunch break was ticking close to an end, but she knew she wouldn't be able to return to work as though nothing had happened. Thankfully, her only appointments for the afternoon were basic checkups, which could easily be passed off to another medic.

She needed to do some research. She needed to think.

"...ugh."

* * *

Jiraiya had come to his home sometime that morning, only to be directed to Genma's, where he and Kakashi were trying to drag a couch out of the too-small doorframe. Kakashi grunted, maneuvering his head to try and avoid getting a sharp couch corner to his good eye. Jiraiya had appeared in the mouth of the stairwell, eyebrow raised and looking amused. He made no effort to help, however, and instead lounged in the opening and remained wholly useless.

"If it doesn't fit through the door, how did you even get it in there?" he finally asked, after Genma and Kakashi had both almost ripped through the drywall.

"The window," Genma said as though it was obvious.

"I see. I need Kakashi."

Kakashi turned his head just as Genma gave an enthusiastic shove from inside the apartment, sending the couch through the frame and nearly toppling him to the ground. Genma looked between them and sighed.

"Is this about the clearly super secret thing I'm not allowed to know anything about? Because we've still got a bookcase to move and I had him here first, so you can't have him until we're done or Shizune will be annoyed. I told her I'd have these gone two weeks ago."

"If you brought them in through the window- why not just take them out that way?"

Kakashi and Genma shared a glance.

"Mrs. Nakawa."

The elderly man who had once owned the apartment complex they lived in had been well liked by the tenants for as long as Kakashi could remember. He was a civilian who had lost his wife, a kunoichi, many years ago during the war, but held no ill will to the profession. He never complained about them coming at all hours; would happily water plants and collect mail for shinobi on missions. He hadn't batted an eye when he had strolled by one day and seen Genma and Kakashi hefting a couch up the four stories to Genma's window, only wished them a good day and popped inside. When he had died, peacefully in his sleep at the ripe old age of ninety eight, his funeral had been attended by most of the shinobi in the village. A small bird feeder had been slapped together in the front of the apartment where he had sat many mornings, throwing seed for the birds and making conversation with anyone who walked by. After him, however...

Mrs Nakawa was a civilian, though she didn't hold shinobi in the same regards as the previous building owner. Why she even bothered to buy the building, when it housed almost entirely shinobi, had been a mystery. She complained about almost everything they did, and she complained loudly. The only shinobi she had any liking for was Shizune, which might be the only reason that Kakashi and Genma hadn't been told to vacate the premises. Jiraiya rolled his eyes and slipped one hand under the couch, lifting it easily and helping them continue the awkward shuffle down the multiple flights of stairs. They dumped it unceremoniously next to the other couch before retreating back up the stairs for the bookcase, which was the hulking monster of the bunch. It had previously contained what Kakashi was pretty sure was every medical textbook known to shinobi kind, ordered neatly by medical designation, and then alphabetically within those categories. Now, it was bare bones and thick, gnarled wood. It looked almost malevolent, if furniture could do so.

"This thing haunts my nightmares," Genma supplied helpfully when both Kakashi and Jiraiya eyed it with suspicion.

It was heavy enough that Kakashi grunted when he lifted it and found himself wondering if Sakura owned something similar, because if she did maybe it was going to disappear in the dead of night.

"Couldn't you have paid some genin to do this," Jiraiya grit out, wincing as the wooden bookshelf scraped along the wall and took a sliver of paint with it.

"Shizune offered but I said I could do it myself. Remind me next time to not do that."

The bookshelf was an awkward shape and size, aesthetically pleasing but not overall helpful for anything in the grand scheme. After multiple position negotiations, four hand grip changes, and a heated debate about whether or not this thing was actually made of steel and not wood; Kakashi knew it wasn't _him_ who 'accidentally' lost a grip and sent it tumbling over the edge of the stairs to shatter onto the ground below. Or where it should have, considering how far it had fallen. Instead it landed with a crash that echoed back up the staircases and prompted several shinobi to throw their doors open, kunais in hand, and glare at the three offenders who had ruined the lazy morning. But it remained in tact.

"Any chance I could take him now?" Jiraiya asked with an easy smile. Genma peered down the stairs at the bookcase and shrugged, plucking his senbon from his pocket and placing it between his back teeth.

"Be my guest."

Kakashi didn't get a chance to ask much before he was being prodded in the back by Jiraiya in the general direction of the staircase. He leapt over the fall bookcase- sitting innocently on the ground without so much as a scratch, and shaded his eye from the hot spring sun. He expected some kind of explanation from Jiraiya when he emerged, but he was met only with silence and a 'this way' tilt of the head. It wasn't until they were heading in the direction that was definitely out of the village that he finally asked, trying to keep his tone casual and light.

"Where are we going?" Kakashi asked, confused where he was being lead to. They had left both the hospital and the tower behind them, and the only thing in this direction were the Konoha gates.

"Tsunade gave me permission to take you on a short mission. Strictly reconnaissance."

Kakashi ground to a halt, half excited that he was being allowed on a mission after so long but worried about his plans with Sakura for the evening. Jiraiya stopped several feet ahead of him and looked back, eyebrow raised.

"You got better plans?"

"Sort of."

Jiraiya laughed, "You'll be back in four hours, tops. Whatever you're doing with Sakura won't be interrupted. And if it is, I'll apologize to her personally."

Kakashi felt warmth creep at the collar of his shirt but he kept his cool, following Jiraiya's lazy pace until they reached the towering gates of the village. The gate guards must have been told they were coming, because the heavy gates were already swinging open. The low, creaking groan as they opened was music to Kakashi's ears after so long without a mission. The devastation from the village attack was mostly gone now; the craters long filled in, the splinters of ruined trees melding back into nature. The large stump of the tree that had been used to cover the attacker was uneven and badly cut up. He remembered Sakura mentioning something about disobedient genin. He smiled.

There was no reason to ask Jiraiya where they were headed, he could already sense that the details of this mission were likely a need to know basis. It wasn't until they were almost two miles out of the Konoha limit; taking a sharp turn at a sprawling willow tree and navigating through knee high grass, that Kakashi abruptly realized where they were headed, a cold sensation seizing in his gut and he stopped in the grass.

"Why."

Jiraiya looked over his shoulder, guilt etched on his face, "We've got good intel from a ROOT member that Danzo used some kind of secret tunnel to get in and out of Konoha without being noticed. ANBU scanned the grounds but didn't find anything. But if it was an Uchiha tunnel..." he trailed off and let Kakashi fill in the rest of the information, chest aching at the thought of going back to the camphor tree where he had killed Sasuke. There was barely a week until it had been a year, and he had yet to go back.

"You could have told me."

"Yeah, I could have."

Kakashi set his jaw and walked past Jiraiya, knowing which twists and turns to follow now that he knew their destination. The camphor towered above the other trees around it, leaves dark and lush in the final weeks of spring. He could feel his heart slamming against his chest; images of Sasuke's body- the blood- the sickened pallor of his skin- the sharpness of his collarbones and bones as fragile as a birds-

A hand landed on his shoulder and Kakashi sucked in a breath, feeling his lungs scream with release as air flooded through them. Jiraiya pointed to a gnarled knot of the tree, thankfully on the other side of the impossibly wide trunk that would shield them both from where Sasuke's body had rested. Kakashi lifted his hitai-ate, feeling an immediate nausea take hold of him as the world tipped and spun. He began to circle the camphor, eyes sweeping over every raised root and cracked layer of bark. The chakra signature was so small he had almost missed it. A tiny flicker of blue wedged into the tangle of roots. Kakashi reached out and brushed his fingers against it, gently feeding a thread of chakra against the seal. Jiraiya yelped beside him and Kakashi turned, sharingan whirling and ready for a fight, only to see the ground opening with a spray of dust and grass. The hole was small, barely enough to squeeze the width of his shoulders through. A wooden ladder was bolted to the side, descending into the dark maw of the earth. Kakashi sighed and gestured to Jiraiya.

"After you."

Jiraiya didn't look overly impressed, but wedged his way into the hole regardless. Kakashi saw the earth around the entrance crumble and fall, and hoped that whoever had built this tunnel put as much effort into reinforcing it as they did hiding it away. The chakra circle that opened the tunnel was tiny, barely the size of the tip of Kakashi's thumb. He also noted that, should a byakugan user ever stumble upon the area, the signature would be too small for their kekkei-genkai to detect. The byakugan was often considered far superior in regards to noticing chakra, though it lacked the mimicking skills of the sharingan. But whoever had designed the tunnel had clearly known the fault in the Hyuuga legacy- that the byakugan was so powerful it often dismissed small chakra signals.

That didn't lend any assistance to the idea that it was the Uchiha who had built the tunnels.

"You can come down!" a muffled voice called from the depths, "It's about fifty rungs but it's stable."

Kakashi stared blankly down the hole of darkness before he lifted his head, his eyes immediately finding the patch of grass where he had plunged his kunai into Sasuke's heart.

The rungs of the ladder creaked ominously under his weight. But they held.

The dirt was hard packed when he landed on it, staring up at the circle of light before he gently pressed his finger to the matching flicker of chakra embedded in the dirt walls. The light above them slowly disappeared as the cover crept back over it. From this angle, Kakashi could see the chakra channels melded into the earth, forcing it open and closed on command.

"If we're trapped in here forever, you're in trouble," Jiraiya quipped.

Kakashi heard a grunt and some scrambling before the tunnel was illuminated; Jiraiya clutching a flaming stick of wood in his hand. The tunnel only went in one direction, barely big enough for three abreast as it stretched out ahead of them. Kakashi went to pull his hitai-ate down, but felt Jiraiya's hand on his own.

"Far as we know, the last person to use this tunnel was Danzo. Maybe just keep an eye out for now, yeah?"

They walked for almost three miles before Kakashi felt the rise of the ground under his feet. A set of weathered stone slabs were only a few feet further, footprints worn into the rock from what would only be decades of use. The fact he had been able to use his sharingan to access the tunnels hadn't necessarily proved it had been the Uchiha clan who had created them; Danzo had already proven that he had a tight grip on the pulse of the village and could have created this without anyone's notice. But the perfect imprint of sandals was damning for the clan. When the stairs finally reached their peak' Kakashi gently lifted his hitai-ate with one finger, feeling the rush of exhaustion swirl to his gut and linger there. He could see a single slab of stone on the wall, emitting the tiniest glow of chakra.

They were towards the south of the Uchiha compound, nestled between the remnants of a shrine and the forest. Kakashi turned back as he heard the screech of the hidden door closing, watching as it nestled perfectly into the base of a gnarled tree, disappearing from view. Jiraiya let out a low whistle, looking around.

"Looks like the ROOT member was telling the truth, Jiraiya mused, shading his eyes from the afternoon sun as it glared down at them, "I'll tell Tsunade. We'll have to come back here and go through that tunnel again, she'll want to make sure there's nothing hidden away in there. Don't make yourself too busy for the next couple of days."

Kakashi grunted. The throb of his eye was radiating into the back of his head and he could feel droplets of blood seeping into the fabric of his hitai ate. He had barely used it and yet he felt like he'd had it active for hours. The compound was silent, save for the rustle in the trees and the chirp of the overhead birds. Kakashi knew there had been no way for him to know the passageway had been there, despite the many hours he had spent here talking with – what he now knew- was Sasuke's empty coffin.

"What do we do now?"

"I go and tell our lovely Hokage the good news. _You_ go home to your charming lady friend."

Kakashi rolled his eyes as Jiraiya motioned for him to follow. Kakashi didn't ask how Jiraiya knew his way around the Uchiha compound with such ease; he imagined he had been one of the people tasked with scouring it for information after than clan had died; and then likely been sent by Tsunade after Sasuke's death to make sure the Village Elders didn't overstep their boundaries during their "necessary search." Kakashi himself had spent enough time here to know that the route Jiraiya was taking wasn't the quickest way out of the district, but it was the only one that didn't bypass the memorial stones. When they reached the rusted gates, Jiraiya gave Kakashi an acknowledging nod.

"I appreciate the help. I'll be sure to put a good word in with Tsunade for you to be able to get back out there soon."

Kakashi didn't know how much Jiraiya's good word would do, given Tsunade's high strung emotions right now, but he appreciated it all the same. He waited until Jiraiya had disappeared through the tree tops before he turned back to the gates, heaving a sigh and pressing a palm to his aching eye. Sasuke had been so young at the time of the massacre, it was likely he hadn't been told about the secret passageway. There was so much about the Uchiha clan that had never been passed down to Sasuke, only inked into scrolls that now sat gathering dust in Konoha's archives. But if something this big had never been committed to paper, what else was there about the clan that would remain unearthed forever?

* * *

It was one of the benefits of working too much; Sakura noted as she swiped her access card at the door of the library; that people didn't really question when you asked for some time off. She had returned from her conversation with Hinata and promptly told Shoji she would be taking the rest of the day off. He had asked if he needed to schedule anything for the Hyuuga heir, and she had brushed off their conversation as 'relationship issues', which Shoji had taken without any signs of disbelief. He had assured her that her patients would be taken care of and wished her a good day, not batting an eyelid as she disappeared out the doors moments later.

There was something comforting about the smell of the medical library. Shino, with all of his strange and impossibly wide knowledge, had told her that books create a specific scent as they get older. She forgot what it was called, but it was a scent she would always associate with here. The walls were lined with shelf after shelf of medical textbooks, notebooks and personal stories. The older, more delicate books were kept locked away in the darkness; too fragile to be bathed in the sun that spilled through the large windows that faced out over the village.

Sakura dropped into one of the high backed chairs tucked neatly against a desk in the corner, digging in her bag until she retrieved her notebook and the collection of files she had received from Danzo's home. The leather bound notebook sat ominously at the bottom of the bag, and she tucked it gently by her feet for later. The books she had selected from the stacks were mostly beginner textbooks, but it never hurt to go back to basics. There were a few others she had brought from another section of the library; information about curse seals, chakra suppression and working with patients branded with the seals. She would need to get permission from Tsunade, but she already knew she would need to go into the village archives and clan records. She cracked open one of the textbooks, tapping her pencil against the blank page of her notebook and murmuring quietly to herself.

"Use of chakra for medical purposes is a highly specific skill in the shinobi world, and should only be attempted by experienced shinobi or under the apprenticeship of a trained medical professional..."

The sun was considerably lower in the sky when she finally let the book fall shut, peering down at her notes and rubbing the bridge of her nose. Her notes had begun neatly printed and spaced, though the carefully numbered lines of information had quickly devolved into hasty scribbles and scrawled print. There was, as of yet, no confirmed cases of anyone extracting information from a person with a silencing seal. In the documented cases, many of the subjects had died when the experimental techniques had been applied. Given that the man underground was their only lead thus far, Sakura wasn't going to risk killing him. She had, however, found the most likely reason that the Tsuchikage had lied in the report to Konoha about the man's designation. Under Konoha law, should a shinobi wanted for any crimes compatible with the laws of Fire country, enter the country while trying to escape capture; they could be executed on sight and did not have to be returned to their own village. Civilians, however, were the sole responsibility of their village, and would be returned unharmed unless they committed a crime equal to, or greater than, the crime they were wanted for in their own home. By labelling the man as a civilian, the Tsuchikage had ensured he would come back to Iwagakure alive. What the Tsuchikage wanted him for in particular, she had no idea, but that was something Tsunade could shed light on herself.

Sakura tapped her pencil against the heavy wooden table top and rested the plush curve of her cheek into her palm. She had come here plenty of time since Sasuke died, and hundreds of times before that, but she wondered if she would always associate it with him now.

* * *

 **KONOHAGAKURE- LAST YEAR- THE MIDDLE OF SPRING**

* * *

Something was tickling her nose.

Sakura stirred, opening one eye look stare blearily at the fuzzy green and yellow blur perched on the desk beside her, gently waving a tiny feather against her nose.

"Tsunade-sama!"

Sakura jerked up, wincing when her face peeled away from the thin pages of the medical textbook she had been reading the night before. The medical library was empty, save for her and her former teacher. Tsunade had rested a cup of coffee beside the heavy, ancient book Sakura had fallen asleep on, and Sakura gaped.

"Tsunade-sama, liquids aren't allowed in the medical library."

"I'm the Hokage, I can do what I want. Besides, you looked like you needed it. Why are you here?"

Sakura yawned and rubbed her cheek, looking between her notebook and the medical text, "I had an idea about the patient you had me looking into. I had to do some extra research but I guess I got carried away. What time is it? Am I late for my shift?"

"I had Hinata take over your rotation today when I heard you'd come here last night. I assumed you were researching the patient I gave you... did you find anything?"

Tsunade settled herself on the table and Sakura brought the cup to her lips, drinking deeply.

"I went as far back as the books go, there's nothing comparable to what I've seen on the patient's file. A few things match here and there but nothing that encompasses it in it's entirety. But you said it isn't a completely unknown illness, just that nobody has ever survived it. I thought about..." Sakura shuffled some of her loose pages before pulling a single sheet out and passing it to Tsunade, "We could suppress their chakra. Not all of the damage is coming from there, but it seems to be what's doing the most. If we were to use a chakra suppressant, we could stop it carrying the disease through the body through those particular channels and let us work on the physical side of things. Now, since the person is shinobi, that would cause other problems. We spend our entire lives teaching our bodies to use chakra, so to suppress it that much would mean they would get weaker. And since the disease is in the blood as well, we'd only be dealing with half of the problem. So chakra suppression in combination with regular blood transfusions might help provide a bit of a boost. There's also the issue with the lungs. Your notes," she reached for the file again, "Said the patient complained of breathing difficulty and the x-ray shows a lot of cloudiness. We should treat similarly to how we treat for pneumonia, though I just... don't feel like that's the right diagnosis for the lung issues just yet? I'm still working on that part. Overall this is going to be an intensive treatment regime, and I can't even guarantee any of it is going to work. I also tried to figure out the pattern the disease might take, given what we already know. I think we should start preemtively treating for organ failure. The kidneys are in bad shape, but so is the liver. And there's no telling what could happen to the heart or the lungs if any of this keeps up. The brain activity test scores are all well above average for now but I assume it's safe to say it's going to get there eventually."

Tsunade was nodding, which she found encouraging despite the never ending pile of stone walls she had been encountering all night. "I went with my first theory about the eyes being a clue to help find a cure. First I thought we could be dealing with a kekkei-genkai that was somehow protecting the eyes from the foreign bodies but I ruled that out fairly early on."

"Why?"

Sakura shrugged one shoulder and chewed on the end of her pencil, "You said there was nobody around to tell us about the other people who had died, and I know they're a Konoha shinobi. If it was someone with a kekkei genkai we would have people who knew what we were dealing with."

Tsunade's careful facade crumbled for the briefest second. If Sakura hadn't been watching her mentor with the eyes of a predator observing prey at the exact moment she spoke, she would have missed it. Sakura frowned.

"Shishou... this would be a lot easier if I knew what we were dealing with. I know you wanted my unbiased view of the situation and I do think I've provided a fresh perspective. But there's only so much I can do with what you've given me..."

Tsunade took Sakura's notes in her hands, turning them over page by page; a tiny, sad smile on her face.

"You're quite gifted, you know that? There's things here even I didn't consider, and I've worked on people with this illness before. You're also right about the organ failure pattern. I don't have the timeline worked out just yet but yes, it is going to spread to his brain. This was excellent work, Sakura."

Pride welled in Sakura's chest but she didn't smile. Tsunade set the notebook down and sank into the chair beside her, dragging it close so she could lock her hands with Sakura's and rest them atop her knees. It was gentle and soft, so kind that Sakura wanted to wrench her hands away because there was nothing good that could come out of this.

"You were right to believe it was a kekkei-genkai. I'm sorry, Sakura."

Her heart leapt into her throat. Tsunade wouldn't apologize like this if it wasn't someone Sakura knew, someone she cared about.

"Neji?"

The thought that it was him had crossed her mind, but he seemed _fine._ And he would have come to her, wouldn't he? The Hyuuga clan would cooperate and share their information, Hinata would make sure of it.

Tsunade's brow creased in a minuscule frown and Sakura didn't understand until she remembered what she had said. Nobody else was alive to speak about the disease. The Hyuugan clan was still thriving.

There was only one other kekkei genaki in the village. And only one who had nobody left.

"...no."

* * *

Sakura snapped out of her thoughts, not sure she wanted to remember that particular day, especially with the events that had transpired afterwards. The bag at her feet seemed to be burning a hole in her leg, the notebook inside practically screaming to be opened. Sakura was sure it had belonged to Orochimaru, given the contents. There was no doubt it had come into Danzo's hands some time during the sharingan implantation, and it was likely he was hoping he could use it for more transplants even after Orochimaru's death.

Sasuke had exchanged several of Orochimaru's documents as part of his release, and had agreed to recount as many of the procedures he had been present for so Konoha could gain a better understanding of his intentions. He may have been dead, but there was no telling how many of his test subjects were loose on the shinobi world. Sakura had sat stone faced in the room while Sasuke had detailed several of Orochimaru's attempts at transplanting kekkei-genkai; bringing back the dead; preventing death entirely; and his other, more drastic procedures. She knew what she was going to find in the pages of that notebook, and she knew that she could never be ready for it.

Sakura peered at the thin, ragged leather cover that held the book together, squinting curiously down at the faded pattern on the front. If Orochimaru had taken the time to bind his notes in it, maybe there was something specific about the image. The pattern was barely there anymore, large patches of ink missing and the lines blurred in many areas. Sakura tilted her head left and right, a sickening realization dawning on her. It was a faded image of an ANBU tattoo.

Orochimaru had bound his notebook in human leather.

The urge to gag yanked at her diaphragm, but she swallowed it down and opened the notebook with trembling hands. The first few pages were only notes, similar to her own. Long lists of possible ideas, hasty scrawl of half formed thoughts and ideas. As she flicked through they became diagrams, detailed images of people stretched out on racks with their organs in bowls beside them. Names, ages, chakra affinities were a bulk of the middle pages, photos sometimes clipped to the paper. Test subjects.

Most of them were crossed out with splotched ink. FAILURE.

Sakura flicked another page and her stomach turned, an image of Sasuke was hanging from one of the corners, a photo of him from the Academy. The pages were stained with what Sakura could only assume was blood, pock marking it like rain splatter on a window. She itched to slam it shut because she couldn't do this. Not today. Not now, when her wounds were already scraped open and freshly bleeding after so long. She gently closed the book and let it sit on the table, almost mocking her in the silence of the library.

She was starting to understand why Tsunade drank so much.

* * *

Kakashi had knocked on the front door to the Inuzuka home several times before he heard the ever so faint call from inside.

"Hana?"

"In here!"

Her voice came from somewhere deep inside the home, almost swallowed by the barking and yelping the echoed off the walls. Kakashi peered around a corner, finding dozens of puppies tottering unsteadily around the room. Hana was sitting in the centre of the chaos, one puppy on her lap and another held close to her face as she carefully scrutinized it's face. Kakashi felt a tug on his pants and looked down to find a large, round ball of fuzz chewing absently on the hem of the cloth, wrestling with it uselessly until he fell flat onto his bottom. Kakashi bent down and scooped it into his arms, noting the large black splotch on the otherwise beige fur. Not one of Bisuke's- that was for sure.

"Care to explain?" he asked, scratching the puppy behind the ears before depositing it back on the ground where it tottered away back to it's siblings.

"Routine medical for all the pups. Easier to do it this way, believe it or not. I need to make sure they're all healthy before we start training them,"

"Training?" Kakashi echoed, forgetting for a moment why he had come there, "They're not even weaned yet."

Hana nodded, keeping up the conversation as though she didn't have her fingers in the mouth of a pup with tiny needle teeth, "Bisuke and Kita's litter is one of the most advanced we've had in a long time. Three bitches gave birth around the same time as her and none of them had the same number of ninken, and the ones who were aren't showing anywhere near this level of chakra development yet. They're not old enough to be separated from her but we're already able to start introducing them to the potential owners. Rather than do check ups on them now and then the others in a few weeks, it's easier to give them all clearance at once. That way they keep each other busy,"

She indicated her head to the gathering of nine or so pups who were doing circles around one another, yelping and bouncing with boundless energy.

"I did Bisuke and Kita's litter an hour or so ago, they're back with their mother. All healthy and strong, you'll be happy to know. Bring Sakura around whenever she's free, we'll need to start bonding as soon as possible if they're going to keep up this pattern of chakra growth."

Kakashi smiled proudly. He had never taken or raised the dogs with the intention of breeding them, but when Bisuke had fallen hopelessly in love with Kita, he had been secretly hoping they would become parents. He watched Hana let one of the sharp toothed puppies gnaw at her finger as she checked inside it's ears and along it's gums, pressing a loud smooch to it's furry head before she plopped it on the ground and let it amble away.

"Were you here to see the ninken? You can go in but they're probably asleep. Kita is working overtime with those guys, they're so energetic. She's happy that Bisuke is around so much but he does love to rile them up."

Kakashi cleared his throat, disappointed that he wasn't able to have this conversation with the no nonsense, no questions asked head of the Inuzuka clan.

"I'm looking for something, actually. I would ask your father but I can't seem to find him anywhere in the compound."

Hana handed him a puppy, "He's away on a mission. Didn't say what about or when he would be back, just that the Hokage requested him. I'm in charge until he gets back- what did you need?"

Kakashi looked down into the large brown eyes of the shiba inu in his arms, feeling his heart swell as it yawned and blinked sleepily up at him, one paw scraping at it's nose before it curled against his chest and relaxed. He noticed Hana's soft smile and cleared his throat, gently stroking his fingers through the mass of fuzz.

"My mother's recipe book."

* * *

 **A/N- It's been a while. If you don't want to read a ramble, thank you for your time and I'll see you next chapter. If you don't mind me word vomiting my soul out, howdy there.**

 **So when I posted the last chapter, I knew I'd likely have trouble with this one. Not because of the plot but because of the timing. June was a lot. I had my birthday, and then two days later would have been my father's birthday. Less than a week later was the first anniversary of his death, and then the 16th of June was Father's Day here in Canada, so to say I had a shit month was an understatement and the amount of work I got done was actually zero. I spent the time curled up in a ball having a pity party and I think I've finally hauled myself out of it enough to post this. It's shorter than I have been aiming for, but there felt like a good time to round it off for now.**

 **I really appreciate every person who has read this story. Even if you didn't comment, or kudos, or anything like that. This was my first major project I understood during a dark time in my life and it really brought a light to it that I thought I'd lost forever, so to have it back, I can't ever express how much it means to me.**

 **x**


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